Doctor Without Borders
by REIDFANATIC
Summary: Sequel to Reunion. Reid has planned a relaxing trip for Allie and himself in Canada. The best laid plans, however can sometimes go awry. Reid/OFC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Criminal Minds and no copyright infringement is intended. I do however own the characters of my own creation.

**A/N: **Hi everybody! This story has ended up being much longer than I originally intended. Thanks to a suggestion by mablereid, I have broken it into three components, a trilogy if you will. Thanks again to mablereid for all the help.

--

The red tail of Northwest Airlines' flight 1543 from Minneapolis waved in the sunlight as it descended through the white fluffy clouds over Calgary International Airport. The rain had been falling in sheets from the dark clouds that seemed to hang over Baltimore when Spencer Reid and Allie Graham had taken off four and a half hours ago but the sun had greeted them on their connection in Minneapolis and guided them westward to their destination. "We're here, we're finally here," Allie said, her brown eyes twinkled and her face lit up excitedly deepening the dimples in her cheeks as she squeezed Reid's hand.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we've got a ways to go yet to get where we're going," her boyfriend replied. "After we get our luggage, it's about a two hour drive to Lake Louise."

"Oh, I know that but at least we're in Canada now, so we're close. I can hardly wait."

Reid smiled at his girlfriend. She was so excited about their trip since their last getaway together had not turned out the way she had hoped. Reid had vowed to himself that this time would be different. She would have the happy time she didn't get in Lancaster, he would see to it. The plane taxied to the gate as the stewardess gave the usual speech about passengers remaining in their seats until the seatbelt lights went out. He hoped Allie was listening because she looked like she was about to jump out of her seat at any moment.

--

Reid groaned as he hefted the last of Allie's bags off the carousel onto the cart. "What the hell did you bring? How many bags do you need for six days," he asked?

"Well, I didn't know what I needed and I wanted to be ready for anything. And I had to bring all the stuff I bought from my shopping trips with the girls," she explained very seriously.

"Oh yeah, I saw all the bags from your shopping trips. Three times," he held up three fingers, "You had to go shopping three times," he looked confused.

"Honey, you're a man," she looked at him sadly. "Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that you are but you're never going to understand a woman's need for clothes and uh…" she pointed at the bag he had just lifted, "Shoes."

"Let's go rent a car Imelda," he said and she slapped him good naturedly on the shoulder.

--

Once in possession of the keys to a Ford Focus, Reid and Allie headed for the car. "Wait," he said, stopping at a kiosk, "I want to change my money." He handed his American bills to the attendant and she returned the equivalent in Canadian currency.

"Here," Allie said, going through her purse, "Change mine too." Reid changed her money, thanked the attendant and handed the bills to Allie. She looked at the money and up at Reid. "This is real money, right," she asked.

"Of course, it's real money," he replied smiling.

"It's all different colors," she looked up at him and back at the money.

"Yes, I know, fives are blue, tens are purple, twenties are green, fifties are red and hundreds are brown," he informed her as they made their way to the car. "Wait till you see the ones and twos."

"You've been here before, haven't you," she said, looking at him questioningly.

"You mean Calgary or Canada," he asked weaving in and out of people with the luggage laden cart.

"Both," Allie replied.

"No, I've never been to Calgary but I've been to Canada a few times with Gideon. He's done a few seminars up here on profiling for the RCMP and CSIS. We did one in Ottawa, one in Montreal and one in Regina."

"CSIS," she shook her head in confusion.

"Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Canadian equivalent to the CIA," he informed her.

"Canada has spies," she confirmed, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Shh… I don't think they want the rest of the world to know." They had arrived at the car and Reid loaded their luggage in, biting his tongue as the last of Allie's bags barely fit in the trunk. Allie threw her trench coat in the back seat revealing a flared navy skirt topped with a hip length white mock turtleneck with blue floral embroidery and a navy belt at the waist. Black boots covered her legs to the knee.

"So you've only been up here for work, then," Allie asked as Reid, clad in his usual beige and brown patterned shirt, brown tie, brown cord jacket and beige cords, sat in the driver's seat and looked at the map.

He started the vehicle and guided the car out into the Calgary streets heading for 16th Avenue North which would lead to the Trans Canada highway. "Well, I crewed as part of a regatta when I was in Harvard. My roommate was on the crew and two of the crewmen had been in a car accident and were hospitalized. He asked me if I'd fill in. I didn't have any sailing experience but he knew I could read all the information quickly and retain it. We went from Boston to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The east coast is quite beautiful. Anyway, it was kind of fun. We came in second."

"Well," Allie said, running her fingers through his hair, "I've heard you guys know how to show a girl a good time sailor."

"Hold that thought," Reid replied. "I have to concentrate on my driving, especially in unfamiliar territory." Reid turned westward on 16th Avenue to the outskirts of the city and onto the Alberta blacktop denoted by a green number one inside a white maple leaf on a green background. They were now on the Trans Canada highway with white silhouettes of the Rocky Mountains visible on the horizon engulfed in white fluffy clouds.

"Six days," she exclaimed excitedly, leaning her head against the headrest and smiling. "Hotch won't be calling. Evan won't be needing you for something, although you know I love him. Nobody knows us here. You have no jurisdiction, pure bliss. I'll have to buy Hotch a nice bottle of wine or something. This is the best idea ever."

He glanced at the woman beside him, the joy etched on her face. He'd never had cause to think much about how his work would affect those who loved him, simply because, until recently, there hadn't been anybody to worry about. Now there was. He still had to pinch himself sometimes. _Somebody loved him!_ The job had been the main cause of the breakup of Hotch and Haley's marriage and the unit chief had been so torn up about it, it had caused him to lose perspective during a custodial interview they'd had recently with a death row inmate. Reid decided he'd have to work very hard at both his job and his personal life to prevent that from happening to him and Allie. He was glad Hotch had suggested this. Allie was right there was nothing to get in the way of their plans. The next six days were for Allie.

The scenery began to change as they moved westward, the flat terrain became hilly and trees more abundant. The white silhouettes became grey on the horizon with only the peaks appearing white as the sun shone through the clouds. Then suddenly, as if by the wave of a wand, they were surrounded on three sides by mountains, trees climbing halfway up their grey rocky surface. The only white now was the snow that capped the jagged peaks. As the car ate up the miles to their destination, Reid filled Allie in on many of the things he knew about the province. The drive took them through Banff National Park and the couple became lost in the magnificent scenery and the wildlife. Once past Banff, it was a short sojourn to Lake Louise.

The hotel, The Chateau Lake Louise, was right on Lake Louise itself. Getting there required maneuvering up a very steep curvy mountain road. As they approached the hotel, Allie's jaw dropped at the beauty of the surroundings. The serene green water sat against the backdrop of Victoria Glacier. "Oh honey, it's absolutely breathtaking," she said as they exited the vehicle and headed for the hotel. Reid nodded in agreement. He opened the front door for Allie to precede him. She stopped dead in her tracks and Reid almost ran into her, "Oh my God!"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: As in chapter 1

--

Reid's expression mirrored Allie's sentiment. The vision before their eyes could only be described as palatial. They both stared at the largest staircase either of them had ever seen. A carpet of rich black, burgundy and ivory hues, burgundy being the dominant color covered three quarters of each step. These stairs led to a landing with a huge arch where a large bronze sculpture of a woman and a child was displayed. On the landing, the staircase separated into two other staircases, one to the right and the other to the left. Large stone pillars on either side of the staircase supported an arch over the staircase itself. The staircase was made of a rich oak. The thick spindles of the balustrade that supported the wide banister were beautifully and intricately carved. Staircases identical to those that went left and right went downstairs from the main floor. Elevators, a nod to modern convenience, were situated behind the stairs leading to the lower level, useful but designed brilliantly so as not to detract from the spectacular image that greeted visitors as they entered the front door.

Looking up they saw the hugest chandelier either of them had ever seen. A magnificent three tiered masterpiece of bronze and glass with painted glass maidens who appeared to be holding the lights that looked like a hundred candles flickering a welcoming glow.

The foyer was bustling with activity. Travelers who had disembarked from the numerous tour busses they'd seen lining the hotel's circular driveway, appeared to be milling about the lobby. The couple heard more languages than they could count. There was a large group of oriental families and another group from the Middle East, the women clad in their long jilbabs and their heads covered with colorful silk hijabs. It looked to Reid like a huge cultural melting pot. Allie hadn't moved. She still stood with her mouth gaping open. Reid noticed three check in counters beneath their own arches to the left of the staircase. One was dedicated to tour groups so he approached one of the other two, leaving Allie to allow the shock to wear off.

"Can I help you sir," a man wearing black pants, a taupe vest over a white shirt complemented by a black tie with a gold nametag that revealed his name to be Curtis, inquired?

"I hope so, my name is Spencer Reid, my girlfriend and I have reservations here."

Curtis looked at the computer in front of him, "Oh yes Dr. Reid, we've been expecting you. I'll just alert Steven and he'll be right down to check you in."

"Steven," Reid looked questioningly at the man.

"Because you and," he looked at his screen, "Miss Graham are on the gold room floor, you have Steven, your personal concierge, who'll take you to the lounge, check you in and get you anything you need in the way of reservations or tickets to any performances you wish to attend or sign you up for any of the tours or other activities available here. He'll be available to you at any time throughout your stay. If you could give me the keys to your vehicle, I will see to it that in the meantime your car is parked and your luggage is taken up to your room."

Reid dug the keys to the Focus out of the pocket of his cords but before he handed them to Curtis he said, "I think there's been some mistake. I don't think we're supposed to be on the gold room floor. That sounds very extravagant and I don't think that's what the travel agent arranged." Reid was sure he had gotten a deal from Hotch's friend on a regular room and didn't want to get ensconced in a room with all their luggage only to be moved a while later when the mistake came to light.

"That's what I have down here sir. I've never known them to make a mistake before," Curtis informed the young man.

"Do you think you could ch…" Reid started to say when he was interrupted by Curtis.

"Ah, here's Steven now, he'll take care of all your concerns Dr. Reid." Reid and Curtis were approached by a blond man in his thirties with friendly blue eyes. He was clad in the same black white and taupe as the desk clerk but he wore a suit jacket instead of a vest. His black shoes shone like mirrors. He also wore a gold nametag that did indeed identify him as Steven.

"Dr. Reid," the man offered Reid his hand. "Welcome to Lake Louise. I'm Steven Coulter; I'll do whatever I can to make your stay enjoyable. If you'll come with me, I'll take you and Miss Graham to the lounge and we'll get you checked in." Allie had finally come over to join him.

"I think there's been a mistake," Reid told Steven. "I don't think we're supposed to be on the gold room floor." Allie looked nonplussed, having missed the initial exchange with Curtis.

"What are you talking about honey," she asked?

"I assure you Dr. Reid, there's been no mistake," Steven interjected. "Please, let me show you to the lounge and we'll check you in." Steven led them to a room to the left of the staircase.

The lounge was a medium sized room with three floor to ceiling arched windows on one side. There were no window coverings to detract from what visitors came here to see, the view. Plushly upholstered love seats in the same navy, ivory and burgundy shades as the carpet in the foyer were the main furniture in the room. A square glass coffee table sat in front of the three love seats set around a large fireplace in the same stone as the arch in the foyer.

"Please make yourselves comfortable," Steven said as he went to the credenza located on the opposite wall from the fireplace, opened a drawer and withdrew some papers.

"What were you talking about," Allie whispered. "Why do you think something's wrong?"

"We're apparently booked in some gold floor room with a personal concierge," he whispered in response. "I think that sounds a lot more expensive than what I paid Hotch's friend for."

"There's no mistake," Steven said again as he came to sit on the love seat opposite the one where Reid and Allie sat. "Brad Cunningham apparently owed your boss a favor and offered to give you a deal on this trip while my boss owed Brad Cunningham a favor, something to do with politicians from your country wanting to meet with some influential people from the Middle East in a neutral setting. Brad arranged for them to meet here. The meeting, I understand, was very successful for both the politicians and the people from the Middle East but mostly for my boss who has since got a lot of very good business from the politicians, friends of the politicians and the Saudis. So your boss cashed in a favor with Brad and Brad cashed in his favor with my boss and you two are the beneficiaries.

Allie looked at Reid. She could see he looked uncomfortable. "Honey," she said, taking his hand.

"I kind of feel like the ball in some political tennis game and I'm not sure if I like it," Reid replied.

"We're very used to this kind of thing. It's done all the time." Steven attempted to reassure the couple.

"Not by me," Reid flatly stated.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Criminal Minds (well, only my own criminal mind and sometimes I wonder about that!)

A/N: Thanks to all who read and reviewed and added the story to their alerts

--

"Are you sure about this?" Allie asked Reid as they headed for their room. She knew that Spencer felt uncomfortable with the situation and thought for a moment he might decline the room. She was sure he would have if he'd been alone.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he assured Allie as they climbed the last few steps to their floor. Allie had insisted she had to climb that staircase. They found the room, Reid inserted the key card, allowing Allie to precede him.

"Oh my God," he heard her say for the second time since they'd entered the building.

Reid had been in hotel rooms, many hotel rooms for that matter, but none that prepared him for what he saw as he came through the door of room 710. The room was huge. A stone fireplace, like the one in the lounge, graced the right hand wall. Above the fireplace hung a plasma screen television. In front of the fireplace was a loveseat flanked on either side by two armchairs. An oak coffee table sat in front of the loveseat.

The wall opposite the door, as in the lounge, featured three huge floor to ceiling arched windows, again with no window treatments to obscure the spectacular view. A round oak table with two chairs sat in front of the middle window.

To the left of the door was a long oak cabinet that contained a desk, a mini fridge hidden behind an oak door, and a chest of drawers with attached mirror. Two Tiffany pendant lamps in a rose pattern hung from the ceiling, one over the desk and the other over the dresser.

A huge king size bed took up the left portion of the room, with a nightstand on both sides which held table lamps that matched the pendants and a settee, in the same rose fabric as the loveseat, at the foot of the bed.

"Honey, have you ever seen anything like this," Allie asked slowly walking into the room, twirling to try to see all sides at once.

"N..no, I..I can't say I have." Reid was now certain that what he had paid Brad Cunningham for the entire six days would probably not cover one night in this room.

Allie touched the linens on the bed. The ivory color was accented in the bed skirt and ruffles of the pillow shams with the same rose pattern as the loveseat and settee. "Honey, this is Egyptian cotton, probably six hundred count. It's so soft. If we had this at home, you'd never get me out of bed."

Reid started to giggle, "When have I ever tried to get you out of bed!" Allie slapped him lightly on his arm. "What!" he responded.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I'm going to check out the bathroom."

--

In the lounge Reid and Allie had recently vacated, eleven year old Chris and Dean Gautier were pushing and shoving each other playfully while Mike, their personal concierge, was attempting to check the family in. "Chris, Dean, behave yourselves," Judy Gautier admonished, looking apologetically at Mike.

"That's fine," Mike smiled. "They just need to get rid of some energy. There are plenty of activities around here to allow them to do that."

Their sixteen year old sister, Megan, sat on the loveseat next to her brothers and rolled her eyes meaningfully. "They're so juvenile," she said, looking at Mike.

They quickly completed their check in and headed for the elevator to their suite. "I don't know why I couldn't have my own room," Megan pouted.

"You're not old enough for your own room young lady, so live with it," Terry Gautier told her.

"It's a wonder you think I'm old enough to cross the street by myself," the blond haired teen with a streak of hair in bright blue responded as she chomped noisily on her gum.

"Must you be so overly dramatic mon petit princesse," Judy chided her daughter good naturedly.

"Whatever," the teen responded.

The boys, identical twins with dark hair like their father, continued to wrestle one another as the family proceeded down the corridor to room 709. Chris grabbed Dean and the pair struggled while their father got the key card into the door. The boys managed to slam into the door of the room across the hall. "Settle down boys, settle down," their mother pleaded as the door to 710 opened and Reid stood looking down at two little boys. "Oh," Judy exclaimed, "We're sorry, the boys," she grabbed the boys by their tee shirts, "Were wrestling where they shouldn't have been and banged into your door. I hope we didn't disturb you."

"No that's okay," Reid smiled at the boys.

"Hi," Terry said, "I'm Terry Gautier. This is my wife Judy, our daughter Megan and the terrible two, Chris and Dean."

"Spencer Reid, nice to meet you."

"Sorry for the intrusion," Judy apologized. "Maybe we'll see you around." I hope, thought Megan. This is the first time she'd felt this vacation might not be so bad after all.

"Yeah, enjoy your stay." Reid closed the door as Allie came out of the bathroom.

"Guess what, there's a Jacuzzi in there, a big Jacuzzi, big enough for two," she winked. "And the bath products, no teeny bottles of generic body wash and shampoo, they got the good stuff. Who were you talking to?" Reid explained about the meeting with the Gautier family.

"Oh, that's nice," she picked up some brochures detailing the activities. "We have to decide what to do. We could go hiking, canoeing, horseback riding, rock climbing, ooh," her eyes lit up, "White water rafting!"

"White water rafting, that's uh, kind of dangerous, isn't it?" Reid exclaimed!

"Says a man who runs around with a gun chasing psycho serial killers," she stated with total amazement.

"We can decide that later," he said, grabbing the brochures from her hands.

"Why, did you have something else in mind," she looked at him questioningly."

"Well, there are so many things to experience here. I mean, I've never really experienced Egyptian cotton and I…well there's no time like the present." He raised an eyebrow.

"Spencer Reid, are you suggesting that we spend the first afternoon of our vacation on that king sized bed with Egyptian linens, having mind blowing sex?"

Reid nodded wickedly.

"Thank God, I thought you'd never ask."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: As previously mentioned

--

Allie stared out the window where the eastern sun reflected off the calm green water of the lake to the ice capped Victoria Glacier. She pinched herself and felt silly afterwards, but yes, she was awake and she was here at a table in one of the hotel's many restaurants waiting to have breakfast with the man she loved. She looked at the other vacationers, all seemed relaxed. Her eyes took on a dreamy cast at the memory of waking up in that glorious bed wrapped in Spencer's arms, something she was getting more used to since she had moved into his apartment but she would still have to live with the time the job stole him away from her.

Allie smiled as the familiar melody wafted above the hum of her fellow diners, alerting her to Spencer's presence. Since the trauma she had suffered at the hands of Daryl Kullman in Lancaster had made her hypersensitive to being approached from behind, Reid had taken to softly whistling Lady in Red as he approached so as not to frighten her. He'd also begun giving the buzzer in their apartment building three short rings to alert her to his arrival. She hoped it was something they didn't have to do forever as it did take away some of the spontaneity from the relationship though Audrey Pynchon, a psychologist at the bureau, assured her that over time her fear would diminish but in the meantime she felt Spencer's little solution was an excellent way to relieve her anxiety. "Did you manage to see Steven," she asked as Reid sat down at the table.

"Yes, he signed us up for the hiking, canoe trip and horseback riding. I told him I was still waffling on the white water rafting." Reid replied, as he picked up the menu and surveyed the selections.

"Hi, it's nice to see you again," a friendly female voice greeted Reid and he looked up to see Judy Gautier and the rest of the Gautier family.

"Oh, good morning," Reid responded, standing. "How are you this morning?"

"We're well," Terry answered, "Excited to get a start on the day's activities."

"Yeah, right," Megan whispered under her breath.

Reid introduced the Gautiers to Allie, getting the twins confused. Allie said she was pleased to meet them. They mentioned that they were going on the scenic hike later that day as well. "That's great," Allie said, "We'll look forward to seeing you there." The family agreed and moved to one of the larger tables in the restaurant. "They seem nice," she remarked as Reid resumed his seat.

Reid continued looking at his menu, "Everything looks so good. Belgian waffles, I love waffles."

"You're right, everything sounds totally delicious and totally fattening," Allie bemoaned.

"Oh yeah, I don't think you have anything to worry about," his eyes skimmed appreciatively over her body.

"Thanks honey, but I don't want my jeans to be too tight."

"Please, eat; tight jeans are soo attractive on you." His eyebrows raised and he smiled broadly.

"Have I told you lately that I love you," Allie asked looking adoringly at the man before her.

"Yeah," Reid replied, "I think you moaned something about that just last night," and was promptly hit on the head by Allie's napkin.

--

The couple had gone back to their room and changed. Reid seldom wore jeans but Allie secretly thought he looked fabulous in them. He wore a navy tee shirt and a grey hoodie that zipped up the front with black hiking boots. Allie was similarly clad but instead of a hoodie she wore a denim jacket. They gathered their backpacks, cameras, binoculars and some bottled water from the hotel mini fridge and left their room for the lobby to meet up with the other hikers and their guide.

About fifteen people were gathered to take the hike. Allie and Reid nodded to the Gautiers as the guides got ready to speak to the assembled group. The guides were two native men each with long black hair in a single braid down each of their backs. They were both very handsome well over six feet and very athletically built. The older of the two spoke to the group. "My name is John Woodhouse, this is my brother Darren," he gestured to the man beside him. My spiritual name is Eaglefeather and Darren's spiritual name is Running Fox. We will answer to either. We are members of the Blackfoot tribe and your guides today on your hike which is very scenic however please pay attention to what we tell you. You will see some beautiful scenery, flora and fauna. You will probably also see some wildlife and I want you to remember they are just that, wild. They may be beautiful and intriguing and you may want to approach them but this is their home and we are the ones encroaching. They will attack to defend their territory." Reid saw Megan Gautier roll her eyes at the lecture.

John started leading the hikers along the rim of the emerald lake. The hikers followed and Darren took up the rear. The terrain became steeper as they started gradually climbing up the mountain. They were surrounded by Spruce and Fir trees and Reid hoped his PTSD did not act up. His nightmares had become a rarity of late and since his camping trip with Evan, he'd not had any difficulty with treed areas. They continued to ascend until they reached an open meadow that offered staggering views of the mountains and the lake below. They stopped and many of the hikers took pictures and looked through their binoculars. John and Darren pointed out the plants and trees.

Chris Gautier looked through his binoculars and saw a wolf and exclaimed to the others who quickly looked at the animal. "He's one of the Bow Valley pack" Darren explained. "There are five packs of wolves in Banff national park, three of which are rarely seen. The Bow Valley pack are the only ones that venture this far. Most of the deer and other wildlife stay in the park area but you will see the odd black bear and caribou. In higher elevations you're more likely to see a mountain goat."

They had walked for five miles when they stopped for lunch at the Agnes Teahouse, a rustic cabin in the mountains. "Oh, this is so totally delightful," Allie exclaimed when they entered the quaint little restaurant in the middle of nowhere.

Judy Gautier agreed. She and Allie had taken to each other instantly. Terry and Reid had also struck up a conversation on the hike. He had told Reid about his business, a very successful software company in Richmond, Ontario. The man was obviously energized about computers and Reid thought he would get on extremely well with Garcia.

The group, as a whole, was glad for the respite the teahouse provided. "I thought I was in better shape than this," Vince Cochran, a recently retired insurance salesman from Winnipeg, stated. He did look flushed and rather winded, Reid thought, as the man's wife Irene fussed over him.

"It should be easier on the return trip, it'll be downhill," Reid said as Vince guzzled the ice water the waitress had quickly provided.

The Gautier boys had enjoyed the walk but were most looking forward to the white water rafting. Reid told them he couldn't decide if that was really for him. "Oh come on Mr. Reid, you gotta go, it'll be fun," one of the boys told him. Reid still couldn't tell them apart.

"Yeah, Mr. Reid," Allie chimed in, "You gotta go, it'll be fun."

The return trip, as Reid predicted, was easier which made him happy because he'd been concerned about Vince. After Reid and Allie had showered and changed, they spent some quiet time in their room before dinner. Allie was once again studying brochures.

At the restaurant Reid was savoring his prime rib, medium rare, just the way he liked it. He hadn't realized how hungry he was after the hike. Allie was cutting into her chicken cordon bleu, saying, "Honey, they have a spa here, I can get a massage, a facial, manicure and pedicure, the works. Oh I am so there!"

Suddenly the quiet hum of the restaurant was fractured when Megan Gautier stood up and yelled at her parents. "I hate you; you always treat me like a little kid. You never let me do anything." She turned and ran from the restaurant, leaving her parents visibly upset by the disruption the girl had caused.

"Dad, everyone's staring at us," Dean whispered.

"I know that Dean, because your sister had to go and make a scene just because she can't have her own way," Terry answered his son.

"Maybe I should go and see if she's alright," Judy suggested.

"She's fine babe. It serves her right, having to go hungry after the stunt she pulled. Carry on with your dinner. No reason our meal should be spoiled by her bratty behavior," her husband responded.

"What's up with Megan," Allie asked after the girl had left the restaurant.

"She's had a major case of attitude from the moment I saw her. I don't think anything but totally having her own way would make her happy," Reid said as he carried on with his meal.

Judy had finished her food. "I'm going to have a talk with our daughter," she said to her husband as she stood and walked out of the restaurant.

A few minutes later things seemed to have calmed back down and the patrons were no longer staring at the Gautiers Allie noticed as Terry pulled his cell phone from his pocket and started talking. "So," she asked, "Did the boys talk you in to trying white water rafting?"

"I'm still thin…" Reid stopped in mid sentence as Terry, Chris and Dean suddenly ran out of the restaurant.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: the usual

A/N: Thanks to all who continued to read and review since the alerts aren't working. I will respond to your reviews once the alerts are working again.

--

"I wonder what that was about," Allie asked looking concerned. "You don't think Megan would have done something to herself, do you? It seemed pretty urgent the way Terry ran out of here."

"No, Megan would never hurt herself, if that's what you're asking. Megan loves Megan and she's upset that the rest of the world doesn't adore her. She's not depressed, she's pissed. She's much more liable to take things out on her parents than herself." Reid offered his observations on the teen.

Allie laughed, "You just can't turn it off, can you, you're still profiling even when you're on vacation. Still, Terry looked really distressed and the way he dashed out of here, something must be wrong."

"Maybe Judy got up to the room," Reid took a sip of his coffee, "And found Megan had gotten heavily into the mini bar. Now that I can see her doing; she thinks she's an adult and knows more than anyone around her, you know the invincible sixteen year old."

"Were you invincible at sixteen, my love?" Allie crossed her arms on the table and leaned toward Reid.

Reid laughed, "Oh far from it." He paused for a moment. "You know, you see kids, and they want to grow up so fast. They want to be adults. I know what it's like being an adult when you're a kid. It's the pits and I want to yell at them, stay, stay young. You don't want to be an adult right now, you really don't, but they'd never believe me."

Allie reached her hand across the table and took his. "I know you will always be haunted by what you had to go through as a child but they say God never gives us more than we can handle. He obviously knew how strong you were, giving you so much to deal with at such a young age.

"I never felt particularly strong," Reid said, looking at the table, refusing to meet Allie's eyes.

"Hey," Allie reached under his chin with her hand and raised it up so she looked in his eyes. "You are the strongest person I know."

"But I…" They heard sirens and outside the huge windows, they saw two RCMP cruisers come to a squealing stop in front of the hotel and two officers from each cruiser ran into the building.

"Honey, you don't think…" Allie's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"Yeah, suddenly, I do think that something's very wrong with the Gautiers."

The diners in the restaurant had gotten up from their seats to look out the window, as if something would suddenly appear to enlighten them but all they saw were two white cruisers with the RCMP insignia on the front doors, their blue and red lights still flashing.

--

Constables Mercer, Heeley, Jocoby and Praznik got off the elevator on the seventh floor with hotel manager, Austin Nelles. They walked silently down the long corridor and knocked on the door of room 709. It was answered immediately by Terry Gautier. He looked at the five men with shock and awe. "Mr. Nelles, I told you, no police. The note says no police or he'll kill my daughter."

"Mr. Gautier, try to stay calm sir," the hotel manager cautioned, "I had to call the police because the hotel is the scene of a crime and I had to report it."

"And to hell with my daughter's life," Terry screamed.

"Mr. Gautier," Constable Mercer, the oldest of the four constables, began, "The sooner we come into the room, the sooner we get started and the sooner we can go about finding your daughter." He was slim and stood 5' 11", his thinning brown hair graying at the temples.

Terry stood out of the way, allowing the constables access to their suite. Judy was sitting on the couch shredding a tissue in her hand. Her eyes were red and puffy and she continually sniffled. The boys sat at the desk, trying to make themselves invisible as the four officers entered the room.

"That'll be all for now, Mr. Nelles," Constable Mercer told the manager. "We'll let you know if we need to talk to you again. I don't think I have to tell you not to release any information to the press." Austin Nelles nodded and went out the door, closing it silently behind him.

"Mr. Gautier, could you please tell us what happened leading up to your daughter's disappearance?" Constable Mercer pulled a notebook out of the breast pocket of his brown tunic.

"We were at dinner, Megan's sixteen but, like all young girls, I guess, she wants to think she's older. My wife and I had planned to go to the piano bar tonight and we told Megan that she would be watching the boys. She said she was old enough to go with us to the piano bar and the boys could stay by themselves. We didn't think so, they're only eleven, and we told Megan she was definitely not old enough to go to the piano bar. She got really angry and had an outburst in the restaurant and stormed out. Judy and I let her go. We thought she was just being bratty…"

"You thought she was being bratty," Judy yelled, the tears streaming down her face. "I wanted to go check on her but you said oh no, serve her right to go hungry after being such a brat. If I had come here like I wanted to she might be here safe instead of who knows where with someone who might do who knows what to her!"

"Ma'am," Constable Praznik, the youngest of the RCMP officers said in a kind voice, "Laying blame on one another doesn't help us find your daughter. Why don't you and I sit over here and you can tell me about her and perhaps you have a picture that we could put over the wire to get as many people as possible looking for her and her abductor." The 6' athletically built young man with dark blond hair and soft blue eyes led Judy Gautier to the round table by the window and they sat down and began to talk.

Mercer nodded, Praznik was newly graduated, this was his first posting but the kid had good instincts. Training and knowledge were great assets but they could never replace good instincts. "Heeley, why don't you and Jacoby go find the head of security and start going through the security tapes, both inside and out." The two constables nodded and left the room.

--

Reid and Allie got in the elevator car to take them to their room. The foyer was once again bustling with activity but this time there was a definite tenseness about it. "What's your gut telling you honey," Allie asked as she pushed the button for the seventh floor.

"It's telling me that the prime rib is not sitting too well right now." The elevator door opened to two RCMP constables.

Reid and Allie exited the elevator and one of the constables said, "Excuse me sir, who are you and where are you going?"

"I'm Spencer Reid and this is Allie Graham. We're in room 710. We're just returning from dinner. Did something happen?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," said the constable as he and his partner boarded the elevator car.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Allie echoed in a high whiny voice. "Well la de da to you officer, whatever your name is."

"Allie, he really couldn't tell me anything. The police have obviously been called for some reason. It's an ongoing investigation. I would have said the same thing." Reid replied as he slid the key card in the door. "And they're not called officers. They didn't have any stripes on their sleeves so they're probably constables."

Reid paced the room, "I wonder what happened," he said.

"You don't think Megan got attacked or something, once she left the restaurant? Oh, God, you don't think she was raped, do you?" Allie sat on the settee and removed her shoes. "Why don't we go knock on the door and find out?"

"The police are still in there. They won't want to share anything with me."

"Why not, maybe you could help. I mean not that I want you to get involved in some big case or anything but I do like Judy and Terry and if we could help them, I'd like to."

"I'd like to too but we have to face the fact that we're in a foreign country and I have no jurisdiction here and they're not apt to listen to me anyway, if there was anything I could do in the first place."

--

Mercer looked at Terry, "Mr. Gautier, you said there was a note…"


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: You know the drill

A/N: Now that the alerts are working again, I'll be able to respond to all who have taken the time to review over the last couple of days.

--

Reid was still pacing the room. "They sent four constables with lights and sirens. That sounds more serious than a simple break in or something."

"Maybe once the police go, we can go knock on the door and find out what's wrong," Allie had moved to one of the armchairs.

--

Terry Gautier went to the table, about to pick up the note when Constable Mercer cautioned, "Please don't touch the note." Mercer reached into the pocket of his navy blue pants, with the distinctive yellow stripe down the leg, and withdrew a pair of latex gloves. He donned the gloves, approached the table and looked at the note. It was handwritten.

Gautier

I have your daughter. 1,000,000 by 10am tomorrow or

Megan dies. No cops. If you want to see votre petit

princesse again, do as I say. I'll call with instructions.

"Sir do you know anyone who would target you or your family," Mercer inquired.

Terry shook his head, "No, no one would want to hurt us. I mean I have a good business. I make a lot of money but we're really just ordinary people. Judy's a soccer mom."

--

Austin Nelles was pacing as well, behind the computer screens where Heeley and Jacoby sat studying the security video.

"Nothing like this has ever happened here. A kidnapping, this is disastrous and that poor family." The door opened and Steven Coulter entered and whispered something to his boss. "Okay, get the bars and lounges to give free drinks. Maybe that will keep people's minds off this."

Steven nodded and turned to leave. He spoke to the constables watching the screens. "I don't want to tell you how to do your job but has anybody spoken to Dr. Reid?"

"Who's Dr. Reid," Jacoby asked absently, never taking his eyes off the screen?

"He's a guest. He's in the room across from the Gautiers," Steven explained.

"Oh yeah, him," Heeley responded. "We saw him as we were getting on the elevator. He and some chick were just coming back from dinner. He wouldn't have seen anything. Nice try though," Heeley smirked at the screen.

"I didn't mean to ask him if he'd seen anything," Steven elaborated. "I meant, to ask for his help."

"His help," Jacoby paused the image on the screen and turned toward Steven, "What do you mean, ask for his help?"

"He's an FBI agent. He's probably handled lots of kidnappings. They're the ones that handle things like that down there aren't they? He's part of some special unit, the BAU, I don't know exactly what he does but I understand he's quite knowledgeable."

"Yeah, well, I think Constable Mercer is calling in an inspector in from Calgary. Thanks anyway though." Steven nodded, realizing he'd been dismissed. He'd thought it was worth a try.

--

"Do you have any business dealings in Quebec," Mercer asked Terry Gautier after reading the note again.

"Sure," Terry responded. "I have business dealings with every province. I have a software company. The world runs on computers. I deal with all provinces and many countries. Why? Why ask about Quebec?"

"Just the bit of French, it seems kind of odd," Mercer remarked

"Mon petit princesse is a pet name I've had for Megan all her life.," Judy responded.

"Constable Praznik, why don't you take Mrs. Gautier into the bedroom and look at Megan's things. Perhaps there's a clue there." Praznik nodded and led Judy Gautier from the room.

"Is everything all right between you and your wife Mr. Gautier?" Mercer asked the man.

"Of course, everything's great between Judy and I, why are you asking this?" The confused man shook his head. Then his eyes widened, "You can't seriously think that Judy…"

"I'm not seriously thinking anything at this point, sir but I have to cover all bases. It wouldn't be the first time a parent has used a kidnapping to cover up something else going on with a child," Mercer told him.

"You're nuts, Judy's the kindest, gentlest person in the world. She'd never harm one of our children. How dare you suggest such a thing. She'd no more harm a child than I…" He saw the look on Mercer's face. "You think… I… could have had something to do with this. Oh my God, what hope do we have of finding Megan if you're wasting precious time focusing on Judy and me."

There was a knock at the door and Terry angrily opened it to find Heeley and Jacoby. "Didn't find much," Heeley stated as he sauntered into the room. "He spray painted the camera on this floor so we didn't get anything there. There's tape of Megan going out the door with someone but he's got a Calgary Flames cap on, his jacket collar pulled up and it's almost impossible to make him out. He takes her out and then a couple of minutes later he comes back. He makes sure to keep his head down. He goes to the elevator and we lose him there. Sorry we don't have better news."

"Well isn't that just great, you don't have a clue and all you want to do is waste time attacking me and my wife." The frustrated father paced the room.

"I'm going to call Calgary and get them to send an inspector out who's more qualified to handle a situation like this." He pulled out his cell and stepped away from them, speaking quietly to someone for a few moments. He turned back to the others, "Meanwhile I'll get Constables Heeley and Jacoby to talk to the staff. Maybe the bellboys or parking valets saw something" Mercer informed Gautier.

"How long is that going to take? We don't have time to waste here. My daughter's life is at stake."

Jacoby asked to speak to Mercer off to the side. He whispered, "One of the concierges suggested that we talk to the guy in the room across the hall. His name is Dr. Reid and apparently he's an FBI agent. He thought maybe this guy could help us. I told him we'd look after it ourselves but I thought I'd let you know what he said."

"FBI agent," Terry who was eavesdropping, said with disbelief. "He never told me that. I thought doctor meant he's a physician. Spencer's an FBI agent?"

"Apparently so sir, according to the concierge," Heeley responded.

"Aren't they specially trained for this sort of thing," Terry asked.

"Yes, I believe they are," Mercer confirmed.

"Well, then what are you waiting for," Terry screamed, "For God's sake, go ask him to help." Judy and Constable Praznik had come out of the bedroom upon hearing Terry's screaming.

"Now, Mr. Gautier, this man, Dr. Reid, if he is an FBI agent, he's got no jurisdiction up here so…"

But Terry was no longer listening to the police officers. He ran to the door, throwing it open, running across the hall to room 710. He raised his arms and banged on the door with both fists. "Spencer, Spencer, please open up."

The door was opened by Spencer Reid. He was clad in black pants, a rose colored shirt and a dark wine sweater vest. He looked out into the hallway and saw a very distressed Terry Gautier, four RCMP officers and in the background a very distraught Judy Gautier.

"Spencer, Megan's been kidnapped, you have to help me!"


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The usual disclaimer applies

A/N: Thanks again to all who continue to read and review

--

"Kidnapped," Allie jumped up from the chair running to the door, "Oh Terry

"Kidnapped," Allie jumped up from the chair running to the door, "Oh Terry!" At the door she saw the constables and in the background, Judy. "Oh Judy," she pushed past Terry and the men in uniform to embrace her new friend. "Come on," she put her arm around the troubled woman, leading her back into their suite. Judy seemed to physically sag into Allie's arms at finally receiving the support she so badly needed.

"Terry, please, come in," Reid said to the man whose pain was written plainly on his face. Terry walked into the room as Reid looked at the four policemen and inclined his head for them to enter as well. Reid crossed the room to Terry who was looking out the window but saw nothing of the magnificent surroundings. "Terry, can you tell me what happened?"

The man looked at Reid and then at the constables. "While we were at dinner, somebody took Megan. Judy found a note saying he wanted a million dollars by 10am or he'd k..kill her," the man broke down "She's my baby Spencer." He put his head in his hands and cried.

Reid turned to the officers who looked at him skeptically. They obviously knew who he was, he thought, reaching in his back pocket and opening his ID, "Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid."

Mercer introduced himself and the other three constables. "Dr. Reid, admittedly we're not used to handling this type of situation but we are bringing in an inspector from Calgary. Mr. Gautier seems to think you can somehow help. I've already explained the jurisdictional issues."

"He's right Terry, I have no jurisdiction whatsoever up here. This case totally belongs to the RCMP. I can understand that they might not welcome my intrusion." He saw Heeley smirk.

Terry looked crestfallen. "So you won't help me. Please, you have to. I'm entitled to hire someone privately to help me aren't I? I'll pay you whatever you want, if you'll only help me get my baby back. All they want to do," he motioned to the constables, "Is point the finger at me and Judy."

Reid chose his words carefully. "That is standard operating procedure. The first place we always look is at the parents. First we separate them if possible." Constable Mercer nodded to relay to Reid that that was precisely what they had done. "Security tapes," Reid inquired?

Jacoby nodded, "Nothing usable." He explained the little bit they'd seen.

"Amber alert?"

"Done," Heeley said, "Listen, we don't have to explain ourselves to this guy!"

Mercer turned to Praznik who had said nothing so far. "Well Praznik, you haven't weighed in on this subject yet."

The young rookie looked surprised to have been put on the spot. "Uh, well," he began, "I think that we really do need the expertise of the inspector from Calgary but he'll take a while to get here. In the meantime, if Dr. Reid could give us some insights, when the inspector arrives, we'll be ready and can hit the ground running. A young girl's life is at stake, couldn't we just put our heads together as lawmen. Squabbling over jurisdiction seems petty at this point," he summed up, looking almost apologetic. Mercer smiled to himself and wondered how long it would take for the force to realize what a gem they had sitting in the backwoods of Lake Louise.

"You make a good point Praznik." Mercer conceded, turning to Reid. "Okay, we'll consider your thoughts on the situation. Once the inspector gets here the ball's in his court and he might not be willing to accept the help." Mercer went to the door and Reid followed him back to the Gautiers' suite.

Reid surveyed the room before entering. No sign of forced entry, he noted. A lamp on a side table was knocked over but everything else appeared to be in order. There was no outward sign of a struggle. "Is everything as you found it," Reid asked Judy who was sitting on the couch. Allie sat beside her, holding both the woman's hands.

"Uh, I think, oh, I don't know, I don't know," the distressed woman moaned.

One of the twins who both seemed to be cowering by the desk, forgotten in the urgency of the moment spoke up, "This chair," he pointed to where he sat, "Was knocked over. I picked it up. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, that's okay," Reid assured the frightened boy. "Terry mentioned a note." Mercer pointed to the oak table like the one in his and Allie's room. "Does anyone have some gloves?" Praznik quickly reached in his pocket and handed Reid a pair. Reid picked up the note and read it twice although once was enough to commit it to memory.

"The left slant of the handwriting indicates he's emotionally withdrawn. The bar on his T's is above the stem. This guy sets lofty goals for himself but never achieves them. He's a big dreamer. The pressure on the page is light indicating again that he shows little emotion. These large gaps between the words tell us he doesn't mix well with others. The blunt ending of words and many of the down strokes tells us he has the potential for cruelty. He is very selfish and ungenerous in his relationships. Is there any significance to your little princess in French," Reid asked.

"I've called Megan mon petit princesse since she was a little girl," Judy supplied.

"In public or is it a private thing," Reid asked again?

"Oh, I'd say it's definitely a private thing," Judy responded. "Why?"

"Because whoever wrote this note knows you call her that. It's an endearment and he's taunting you by using it. He also uses Megan's name instead of just saying your daughter or the girl which personalizes the note even more." Reid explained.

"What are you saying," Mercer asked?

"Okay," Reid began, "Nearly 75 of kidnappings are young girls under eighteen years old. There are three distinct types of kidnapping, family kidnapping which is the most common, 49, next is acquaintance kidnapping, 27 and lastly stranger kidnapping, 24."

"Look at this room. There was no struggle here. There was no forced entry. A chair and a lamp were turned over, I think on purpose. Look at the note. He knew that Judy called Megan her little princess in French. Now I haven't seen the security footage but I would venture that Megan wasn't struggling when this man took her out of here. You would have noticed that on the footage. Why, because she went with this man willingly. He's someone she knows. And then you said he came back. He probably gave her some excuse, he had to use the restroom or something but you saw him go on the elevators and then you lost him because he got off on this floor where he'd disabled the camera. He came back to the room to knock over the chair and the lamp and to leave the note. Megan's a little girl who thinks she's grown up and she probably thinks she's in love with this guy, a guy she knows her parents wouldn't approve of. He comes to take her away after she's had a massive fight with her parents and she goes, thinking her prince has come to claim the little princess. I don't think Megan had the slightest idea she was being kidnapped."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: As usual

--

"So how do we find him Dr. Reid," Praznik asked? Reid had noticed the young man's interest when he had done his handwriting analysis. Mercer had listened respectfully while Heeley and Jacoby rolled their eyes and looked at him suspiciously, wary of his ability to glean so much information so quickly. The three eldest officers were tolerating Reid while Praznik, only a few years younger than Reid himself, was eager to learn anything the young profiler could teach him.

"We dissect Megan's life, cell phone records, email accounts, diaries, friends, he's in there somewhere. We should put a trace on Megan's cell, if it's on, we can locate her." Reid didn't know how his next request was going to be received but he knew to do this right and fast, they needed the best. They needed Penelope Garcia. "I want to call our computer tech at Quantico." He held up his hands. "No offense, I know the RCMP undoubtedly has very qualified analysts and I know your company, Terry, would have very qualified people as well but I've seen this woman get information that was virtually unobtainable. She's our best chance. She's the best hacker there is, that's why she works for the FBI. When the bureau discovered they couldn't beat her, they hired her."

Reid pulled out his cell and looked at Mercer. He knew Heeley and Jacoby would be opposed to anything he suggested. He also knew that Praznik was solidly in his court, so the decision rested with Mercer. Mercer thought for a few moments and then silently nodded his head. Reid pressed speed dial for Garcia's home, she wouldn't still be at Quantico, while Heeley exclaimed, "Jesus Frank, don't you have any faith in our people, they could have done it.

"Hey Garcia," Reid said when the tech answered her phone.

"Reid, you're on vacation," she said suspiciously, "What are you doing calling me?"

"Yeah, Garcia, I seem to be involved in a bit of a situation up here."

"Okay, why am I not surprised," the blond tech replied sarcastically. "Alright what do you need?"

Reid explained about the kidnapping and Garcia was instantly all business. "We need to find out who the guy is. Can you go through her email and cell phone accounts, he must be there. I don't know if her cell phone's on but try and trace it. What about your facial recognition software? Will it work up here? If so you can download the security footage from the hotel. Once you identify the guy, we need everything you can find on him."

"Okay, sweet boy, but when you come home, I'm getting Allie a dog collar and leash to keep you from continually getting into trouble. How did you get involved in this anyway, I thought the whole idea of you going up there was to send you where you had no jurisdiction," Garcia pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I'll discuss that later, let me know when you come up with something." He gave her Megan's cell number and email address that Terry had written out for him. "Thanks Garcia." He ended the call, closing his cell phone, "She'll call us as soon as she's got something."

Terry was on his cell, talking to someone, arranging for the transfer of the money. Reid motioned with his finger for the officers to follow him out into the hallway. The five men stood in a circle outside room 709. "I didn't want to say this in front of the Gautiers. I don't think the unsub has any intention of giving Megan back once he gets the money. She knows who he is. He certainly doesn't want to take her with him, that would be too hot but she knows him so he has to dispose of her. We have to find him before the time for the exchange or Megan is in very serious danger. I don't think he'll hurt her until he gets the money. He may need her as a bargaining chip."

"Dr. Reid," Praznik asked, "Sorry, but what's an unsub?"

"Oh sorry, it stands for unknown subject, the perpetrator of the crime." Reid responded and Praznik nodded. Reid continued to address the rookie, "You can call me Spencer or just Reid, everybody does." He looked at Mercer. "How long do you think it'll take for the inspector to get here from Calgary?"

Mercer considered for a moment, "Even with lights and sirens, at this time of night, at least an hour."

Reid nodded and the group went back into the room to find Terry and Judy on the couch with the boys and Allie at the desk working with the laptop. She said as they entered, "I took a look at the note. There's a watermark. I'm researching it through the library of watermarks. That'll give me the manufacturer and then we can find out who they supply paper to up here. It's not from this hotel, I checked, and the watermark's different. The ink doesn't match either so he brought the note with him."

"Are you an FBI agent too," Heeley asked with a mixture of sarcasm and disdain.

Reid was about ready to snap. Heeley was really beginning to piss him off and he didn't like the way the guy's eyes kept roaming over Allie, when Allie herself, responded. "No, I'm a technical analyst. I work in questioned documents and if this case was handled at Quantico, that note would have eventually found its way to my lab. I figure if we can find out where he may have written the note, perhaps a hotel on route from Richmond to Calgary, we can narrow the search for Garcia and the faster we can get a line on him, and ultimately Megan. Isn't that what we're all after? I know you have excellent technicians who can do exactly what I'm doing but they're how far away and I'm here, why not use my skills.

Heeley looked sufficiently chastised and it was Reid's turn to smirk. That's my girl, he said to himself.

Mercer cleared his throat, "Thank you for your efforts, Miss uh…"

"Graham," Reid responded, "Allie Graham."

Reid walked over to the couch where the family sat. "Judy, does Megan keep a diary, if she does, it's likely that she's written in there about this man. Also, we have to contact Megan's friends. Is there anyone that she's particularly close to that she would tell her deepest secrets to? I know it seems totally wrong to invade Megan's privacy like this but it has to be done. We have to find this man."

One of the twins got up, he'd have to learn how to tell them apart, Reid thought and left the room returning moments later with a little book that was closed with a lock. "There's Sheena Corday," Judy said, "She's Megan's best friend."

The boy was reluctant to pass over his sister's private journal but eventually handed it to Reid. "Can you call her and ask her about this man." Reid addressed Judy. "She's more liable to talk to you than a man she doesn't know." Judy picked up the cell and started dialing. Reid broke the lock on the diary without much difficulty and began to read. The officers and the Gautiers watched him flip through the pages so fast, they were sure he was just skimming but Allie knew he was reading every word and it was now locked in his mind. She almost smiled to herself. Serves him right, having an eidetic memory, forced to have the saga of a young girl's teen angst kicking around in his head forever.

Reid finished the diary just as Judy was getting off the phone with Sheena Corday. "She says there is a guy but she doesn't know his name. Megan just calls him TD. She says he's about twenty-one or two, kind of good looking and wears army fatigues most of the time. Megan met him at an internet café where he works."

"Yeah, she doesn't mention his name in her diary either, just TD." They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Mercer turned to answer it. A stocky man in a grey business suit that matched the color of his hair stood in the corridor. "Constable Mercer," he said, Mercer nodded. "Inspector Zack Butler from the Calgary detachment, I understand you've got something of a situation here."

"Yes sir," Mercer responded to his superior who entered the hotel suite. Everyone looked relieved that the inspector had finally arrived. Mercer introduced the Gautiers and the other RCMP officers. "These are two people who work for the FBI and just happened to be vacationing here. They're familiar with kidnapping procedure." He gestured his hand toward Allie. "Allie Graham, a technical analyst at Quantico who's been helping us with the note and this is…"

"Well, as I live and breathe," Butler exclaimed, "Dr. Spencer Reid!"


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

--

"Have we met," Reid shook his head, indicating no recognition.

"No, we've never been formally introduced," the inspector replied. "I attended a seminar a couple of years ago in Regina, presented by Agent Gideon and yourself. I was very impressed. Your CV reads like an encyclopedia. I have managed to read all the articles you've had published. You've dealt with some very interesting topics. You're a fine writer."

"Th..thank you, I didn't know anyone up here followed my work."

"Oh yes, one of the instructors at the academy in Regina actually assigns some of your articles as required reading."

Praznik's eyes suddenly got big and he said, "You're that Dr. Reid!"

"Apparently," Reid replied, somewhat nonplussed.

"Oh yeah," Praznik continued, "Staff Sergeant Lyons made us read a bunch of your articles. Well, I didn't mean made us, uh, that didn't come out right. I mean they were really good. I should have put two and two together when I met you, sorry."

"No problem," Reid replied, smiling at the young constable, knowing how easily one's mouth could run away on him. Usually it was he who was attempting to remove his foot from his mouth.

Allie was watching the other three constables. Mercer looked surprised but intrigued. She was more interested though, in the chagrined faces of Heeley and Jacoby. She smirked as she saw the wheels turning in their minds when the realization hit them that their superior greatly respected the young FBI agent and their attitudes better do a sharp 180º turn if they didn't want their behavior called into scrutiny.

"Have you come up with a profile, Dr. Reid," Inspector Butler asked.

"Yeah, but maybe we could go to our room to talk about it," he said to the men from the RCMP.

"We can hear what you have to say about him can't we," Terry asked as the men turned for the door.

"I really don't think that's a good idea Terry especially for the boys," Reid inclined his head toward Chris and Dean.

"Please, what if Allie takes the boys next door. Please don't shut us out." Reid looked uncomfortable with the idea of sharing the profile with Megan's parents but the decision was not up to him. He looked to Inspector Butler.

Butler thought about it for a moment and decided there was really no reason the parents couldn't hear the profile. He voiced this. Reid looked skeptical but it was up to the inspector, this was his investigation. He nodded at Allie who gathered the boys together, took the laptop saying she'd continue to work on the watermark angle and crossed the hall to the room she shared with Reid.

Butler nodded at Reid to begin. "This is a young man who is rather narcissistic with a grandiose sense of his own self worth, who feels, for whatever reason, the world owes him. He probably leads a parasitic lifestyle. He wants big things but he's not willing to work to get them. He has no realistic long term goals. I think he saw the opportunity with Megan a long time ago, from what I can glean from her journal. He's been coming on to her for a while now, making her believe he's in love with her. And he would make her believe it. He's a good con artist and, I expect, very manipulative." He looked at Judy and Terry. "That's probably when Megan took on this attitude that she was no longer a little girl but a woman. In her mind, she couldn't be a little girl if a grown man loved her."

He could see the look of terror on Judy and Terry's faces. "Don't get me wrong. This man's not a pedophile, he actually has no interest in Megan whatsoever, other than as a means to get the money he wants. He might not be a sociopath in the strict sense of the word but he does have some definite sociopathic tendencies. He doesn't feel any real emotion for others because they're simply not important to him. He's the only one that matters He's a good actor though and he likely has a superficial charm that he's used to lead this young girl into believing he loves her, so when he showed up here, Megan automatically went with him."

"Has he been having sex with my baby?" Terry was enraged.

"I doubt it. Like I said, he's not interested in her sexually although if he felt he needed to have sex with her to further his cause, he would."

Allie had a list of the hotels that got paper from the manufacturers who used that particular watermark. She dialed up Garcia and relayed the list of hotels. "Can you plot them on a map of the Trans Canada highway Garcia," she asked?

"I'm doing it as we speak honey. How did you let my boy become involved in another crime while on vacation sweet girl?" Garcia's fingers flew over her keyboard while her babies responded with bright little dots all along the Trans Canada highway. "Okay, I've got them Allie."

"Good Garcia, now check all the ones between Richmond and Calgary, probably somewhere in the middle is where he'd stop. We're looking for a guy in his early twenties, often wears army fatigues with the initials TD," Allie told her.

"You got it. I'll get back with what I find, and Allie, that watermark idea was great, you've made things a whole lot easier. You rock sweet girl."

Reid had just finished presenting his profile when his cell phone rang, "Reid."

"Okay, sweet boy, I got something for you, thanks to Allie and her watermark search."

"Go ahead Garcia," Reid put his cell on speaker so the others could hear.

"TD is one Timothy Drummond. He's an army brat whose father is a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian armed forces. Right now his father's stationed in Afghanistan. Timothy graduated from high school in Richmond but never made any attempt at higher education. He still lives at home." Reid nodded as this fit his profile

"No, he wouldn't seek any higher education or self improvement, he's not willing to put in the effort needed and he feels he's owed, and there's probably some rebelling against an over disciplinary military father," Reid answered.

Garcia continued. "He works at Aldo's, an internet café in Richmond. He drove to Lake Louise, stopping at the Roadway Inn in the small town of Virden, Manitoba, where he wrote the note. I'm sending you a picture sweet cheeks." The officers looked at one another at hearing Garcia's endearment. The young profiler didn't react however and simply looked at the picture on his phone.

"He's driving a blue 1997 Pontiac Firefly with Ontario license plate number AFKM 863. I don't have any record of him purchasing a weapon," she reported.

"Considering that he still lives at home and being that it's a military home, his father may already have weapons in the house," Reid contemplated. "Thanks Garcia, I…" Reid stopped when Garcia continued speaking.

"I'm not finished, baby boy," again the Mounties shared a puzzled expression at the computer tech's familiarity. "I did a credit card check, and you can find him at…" Reid pushed the end button on his cell phone.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: As usual

A/N: Happy July 4th

--

Reid stared at the wide eyes and gaping mouths revealing the shock of the seven Canadians in the room with him.

"What the hell was that," Heeley snapped?

"She was just about to tell us where he's got Megan. Are you nuts?" Jacoby echoed his partner's sentiment.

"We need to go," Reid said to the Mounties, looking directly at Inspector Butler, who looked as confused as the others.

"Go where," Terry yelled. "How do you know where to go when you hung up the damn phone when that Garcia woman was going to tell us where my baby is? Call her back."

"We have to go," Reid said more sternly with another look at Inspector Butler.

"Where are we going," Terry asked. "You hung up the phone, remember?"

"You're not going anywhere Terry," Reid replied. "You have to stay here. Drummond said he would call with instructions. You have to be here if that happens."

"You can't just take off and leave me here in the dark. I trusted you to help find my baby."

"Then trust me now Terry." Reid repeated, "You have to stay here. I'll send Allie and the boys back in."

He turned for the door and the officers followed. In the hallway, Butler said, "Dr. Reid." Reid held up his hand to forestall any further comment as he inserted the key card to open the door. Allie and the boys were sitting on the loveseat. The television was on but no one really appeared to be watching it. They turned their heads toward the men as they entered. "Allie can you take the boys back to the suite and stay with the family."

"Do you know where he is," Allie asked?

Reid was nodding when Jacoby replied, "No we don't know where he is because Mr. FBI here hung up the phone just when she was going to tell us. What kind of game are you playing here Special Agent Dr. Reid," his voice dripped with sarcasm earning him a sharp look from Inspector Butler. The man could understand his constable's frustration but aggravating the situation wasn't helping.

Allie's eyes widened. "It's okay," Reid told her. "Take the boys and look after Terry and Judy, okay?"

Allie shepherded the boys to the door and turned back to Reid, who whispered, "Garcia found out where he was because of your work on the watermark. We're going to go find Megan.

"Please be careful, I love you." She kissed his lips briefly and turned to go with the boys across the hall.

Reid closed the door behind her, grabbed his cell and hit speed dial, "Alright Garcia, where is he?" He listened to the tech and ended the call.

"Well, are you going to tell us this time or just continue to play with us," Heeley spat out.

"What would you have had me do Heeley?" Reid snapped back at the constable's sarcasm. "Should I have just let Garcia blurt out Megan's location? Stop and think about it for a minute. You know as well as I do, Terry would have been gone in a heartbeat to find Megan, probably putting her in more danger. He's not thinking straight. He's running on pure emotion, I know what that's like so I couldn't let him know where his daughter is and have him jeopardize her life and his own."

Inspector Butler stepped forward, "You're right, Dr. Reid, I apologize. You, of course, deal with this sort of thing more often than we do and you've got the procedure down. So, can you tell us now, what did your computer tech say?"

"They're in a cabin. There are rental cabins a little higher up the mountain. He's rented one of them, number four."

"We should be ready to go at dawn," Mercer suggested.

"I don't think we should wait. He won't be expecting anything at night. I think we should go." Reid disagreed.

"You want us to go traipsing up a mountain in the dead of night. I don't think that will be too safe." Jacoby agreed with Mercer.

"There's a way," Reid said walking over to the hotel phone, "I need to make a call." He dialed the operator and asked to speak to Steven Coulter. He talked to the concierge for a few minutes although the officers could not hear what was being said. He hung up the phone saying, "We're good to go in about fifteen minutes. I've got to change." He took some clothes from the closet and went into the bathroom, coming out a few minutes later in his jeans, a mock turtleneck and his grey hoodie. Although the days were lovely and warm the mountain air was quite cool in the evenings.

"Um, I didn't bring my weapon with me. I wonder if anyone has an extra one I could borrow." Reid looked from their faces to their ankles. The four policemen looked back and forth at one another and eventually Jacoby bent down, lifted his pant leg and retrieved a piece from his ankle holster. Reid checked out the weapon and tucked it in the back waistband of his jeans. Inspector Butler had also left to change while Reid was in the bathroom. He'd told his fellow Mounties he'd meet them in the lobby.

"I'm still not really keen on this," Jacoby stated.

"I think Dr. Reid is right," Praznik responded. "It might be too late in the morning. He won't be expecting anyone to try and get him in the night. He probably thinks we don't even know who or where he is yet" Although secretly he had his own reservations about traveling through unknown terrain under darkness.

The officers all took turns using the bathroom before they started their trek in search of Megan. The group headed for the elevator that took them to the lobby. "I still say it's idiocy," Heeley continued, "To be going out there in the dark, we're likely to get lost and not do Megan any good."

"We won't get lost," said a deep voice behind them. The group turned and Reid saw that Steven Coulter had been as good as his word when he'd told Reid he could get him anything he needed. Standing before them were John and Darren Woodhouse. The tall native men both wore fitted buckskin jackets in a tan color that ended at their waists, with beadwork and braiding that was both colorful and intricate. The leather looked extremely soft. John's jacket was also outfitted with a bone breastplate.

Reid thanked the men for coming. "I have to ask, if this is too dangerous, then we'll wait until daylight."

"It's not too dangerous Doc," John replied. "If you guys were going alone, I'd say yes but Darren and I know this terrain like the back of our hand. We could make the journey blindfolded. So let's go find this little girl."

The men stopped at the RCMP cruisers. Mercer opened the trunk of his vehicle and removed vests as did Jacoby from their vehicle. Mercer and Jacoby handed out the vests to all the officers and Reid. The brothers refused. Mercer also removed an assault rifle with a scope and strapped it to his back.

Reid put on the vest wondering, insanely he thought, if blue was the only color they came in. It was different than the vest he usually wore and it felt uncomfortable at first, especially the bright RCMP emblazoned on the back as opposed to the FBI on the front that he was used to. Reid waited for instructions from the Woodhouse brothers or Inspector Butler since he knew he was there as a courtesy and had no real standing in the investigation. He had expected some resistance to his participation and although Heeley looked annoyed at his presence, he said nothing.

The inspector nodded to John Woodhouse and he led the team to the opposite side of the lake from the morning's hike. The men followed and Darren once again took up the rear. The moon shone brightly on the gleaming water of the lake and the mountains glowed with a beauty that although different from the daylight was no less spectacular. Reid told himself that when he got back he and Allie would have to take a walk in the moonlight and share this fabulous vista together.

Allie, he thought, he'd done it to her again, hadn't he. He'd promised himself that nothing like what had happened in Lancaster would spoil this vacation and yet here he was headed up a mountain to find a kidnapped girl. A team of six going out on a raid, just what he was used to, Reid contemplated. The man giving the orders, however, was not the stern featured but fair, Hotch. He looked to the left and saw Mercer and Praznik, not the muscular Morgan and the gentle JJ. He looked to his right and saw Heeley and Jacoby, not the energetic Emily and the recalcitrant Rossi. Could he count on them like he counted on his team? Would they have his back? These men were strangers. No, he reminded himself, I'm the stranger, a stranger in a strange land.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies

--

Terry paced the hotel suite frantically, running his hands through his curly dark hair. "He just took off. He didn't tell me anything. How could he do that?" He looked pleadingly at Allie.

"I'm sure he had his reasons Terry. Spencer is one of the best profilers in the world and a very caring man. He wouldn't withhold information without a good reason," Allie assured the anxious father.

"Yeah, well he doesn't know what it's like," Terry snapped back.

Allie sighed heavily before saying, "As a matter of fact, he does. I was kidnapped a short while ago by a psychotic serial killer and Spencer had to work out how to find me. He suffered like you're suffering now. Also Spencer was once kidnapped while he was on a case. He was beaten and tortured to the brink of death. So if anyone in the world understands what it's like from your side and Megan's, it's Spencer Reid."

"How do you do it," Judy asked as she sat on the couch wringing her hands? "How do you say goodbye to him, knowing he's going into danger?"

"I won't deny that I'm scared for him every day. But, this is the man I fell in love with. This is what he does and who he is. I just try to revel in every moment I'm with him."

"I'm sorry if our troubles are taking him away from you." Judy grasped Allie's hand and squeezed it.

--

The raiding party continued up the trail, for the most part in silence until Jacoby said, "So what exactly do you do at the FBI?" Reid explained his job as a profiler and the psychopaths and sociopaths his team dealt with.

"Aren't you a little young," Mercer asked after Reid's explanation.

"Yeah, I suppose I am but I had three PhD's by the time I was twenty-one." Even in the darkness, he noticed the surprise on the faces of his companions. "They let me in even though the minimum age is twenty-three. I have an IQ of 187, can read 20,000 words a minute and have an eidetic memory."

"What's that," Praznik asked.

"It means I can remember everything I read, everything. I could read a novel in five minutes and recite it back to you word for word ten years from now. You could give me a line from any book I've ever read and as long as it's the same edition, I could tell you what page it's on." Praznik's eyes widened at Reid's explanation of his rare abilities.

"So," Heeley weighed in, "When you were leafing through Megan's diary, you…"

"Read every word," Reid finished for him.

"And you could recite it back to us word for word," Heeley continued.

Reid nodded, "But I won't."

"Don't make any sudden moves gentlemen, just continue quietly, there's a black bear a hundred meters away at nine o'clock," John suddenly informed them quietly.

"I don't see anything," Jacoby said looking in the direction the guide had indicated.

"Doesn't mean he's not there," Darren whispered. "You probably can't see the two owls in that tree over there or the flock of Canada geese in the brush ten meters back but they're there.

"We'll be nearing the site of the cabins shortly," John informed the men as they continued to move forward. A visible wave of tension ran through the group as they neared their destination.

After a few minutes, the first of the cabins was in their sight. "What about the neighboring cabins," Reid asked. "Do you want to evacuate them?"

"I don't think that's necessary right now," Inspector Butler responded as they came upon the first cabin. All the cabins looked like original log cabins with shingled roofs and little verandas on the front. They could see cabin four off into the distance. "Thank you gentlemen," Butler told the brothers, "But you need to stay back now."

The five Mounties and Reid drew their weapons, advancing on the cabin. Inspector Butler pointed to Reid and Praznik, "You two take the back." Butler and the other three officers headed for the front. Butler stood at the door with Mercer behind him while Heeley and Jacoby flanked the door on either side.

Reid and Praznik positioned themselves at the back of the cabin. Reid ventured a peek through the window and saw no sign of anyone inside. "I don't think they're in there," he whispered to Praznik.

Butler knocked on the cabin door, identifying himself as RCMP. There was no response from within. "Prazink," Mercer said into the radio on his shoulder, "Anything back there?"

"Nothing," came the reply. "Spencer looked in the window but didn't see any sign of anyone."

"We're going in," Mercer told him, "You and Spencer hold your positions." Reid, looking through the back window, saw the door burst open thanks to the efforts of Constable Brian Jacoby. Morgan would be impressed, he thought. He saw the Mounties move from the main area to the bedroom and bathroom and could hear yells of, "Clear."

Praznik was checking out the side of the cabin when Reid heard a sharp intake of breath and a female voice say, "What are you doing here?" Reid turned to see Timothy Drummond, his arms full of firewood beside Megan Gautier. Drummond dropped the wood, grabbed Megan's hand and ran back the way they'd come.

Reid took off after them, yelling to alert the others. As he ran through the trees, feeling the leaves under his feet, visions of Georgia and chasing another unsub flashed through his mind. His heartbeat began to quicken and his breathing became erratic. _Not now, oh God please, not now!_ He began to run faster, and could hear footsteps behind him as the fleet and limber Praznik caught up and passed him. Reid kept running, refusing to give in to the panic. He had to help rescue Megan.

The others were now in the chase as well. Even the Woodhouse brothers had followed. The treed area was opening and Reid could hear rushing water. Heeley and Jacoby were now close on his heels while Butler and Mercer were further back. When he reached the opening in the trees shortly after Praznik, the young Mountie was staring at a white water raft carrying Drummond and Megan down the rapids of the Kicking Horse River.

Jacoby and Heeley had now arrived and they grabbed one of the other rafts left there from white water rafting tours. The partners jumped in as did Praznik. They looked at Reid. Well, Allie had wanted him to go white water rafting and right now it beat going back through the trees. He stepped into the raft and the wild ride began.

Jacoby fortunately knew what he was doing. The four men donned lifejackets that they found in the raft. Reid could see that Butler, Mercer and the Woodhouse brothers had arrived and were taking another raft. Jacoby was giving instructions to Praznik who was helping him steer their craft. Reid and Heeley kept the raft containing Drummond and Megan in sight with the moonlight as their only illumination. Reid tried to take some deep calming breaths to stave off the panic that had started while he was amongst the trees. He hoped in the excitement that no one in the raft noticed. They were gaining on the fleeing pair due to Jacoby's experience in maneuvering the craft. The Woodhouse brothers were also experienced in these waters and their raft was close behind the one carrying Reid and the three Mounties. The rushing water splashed the rafters as their vessels plunged through the raging water. They continued to close in on the lead raft as Drummond, an obviously inexperienced rafter, was no match for Jacoby's skill at navigating the swift current.

Timothy Drummond looked back and saw the other rafts gaining on him. He had to do something to slow them down. He looked over at the young girl sitting beside him. Even in the darkness, he could see the terror in her eyes. She was only a liability to him now, unless… He swung back with his oar bringing it down hard on the back of the frightened teen and sending the unsuspecting young Megan hurtling into the swirling rapids.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: The usual

--

"Something's wrong," Judy exclaimed suddenly, jumping up from the couch to pace the room like her husband. "Something's happened, I can feel it. Oh God, something's happened to my baby." Terry tried to convince his wife that she couldn't know that and until they knew anything for sure, they shouldn't imagine the worst. He held his wife as she sobbed on his shoulder. Allie remembered what Spencer had told her about how distraught her own mother had been when she was taken and felt for the woman. The boys had retreated to the background once again, forgotten, as their parents attempted to deal with the agony and fear they felt for Megan. Allie approached the pair who were, once again, huddled by the desk.

"D…do you really think something's happened to my sister," Dean asked?

"We have no way of knowing but I know the men who went looking for her will do everything they can to bring her home safely. I think you have to try to trust in them. I know it's not easy."

"Is he really that good, your boyfriend," Chris asked tentatively?

Allie put her arm around the boy, "I'd trust him with my own life and the life of anyone I love. You can trust him too." She tried to reassure the frightened boys. "The best thing you can do right now is try to be strong for your sister and your parents and I'll try to be strong for you guys, okay?"

--

Reid, Heeley, Jacoby and Praznik watched in amazement as Drummond struck Megan with his oar and she tumbled over the side of the raft. The current carried the young girl, like she was a rag doll, several meters until she appeared caught on a rock. The raft carrying the men neared her position where Reid and Heeley jumped into the frigid water. The men were almost pulled down by the swirling eddy. The water was not deep but negotiating it to get to Megan was difficult. Heeley and Reid used one another for support against the raging river.

They reached Megan while Jacoby and Praznik continued downstream after Drummond. Together Reid and Heeley worked to free the girl from beneath a rock. Reid braced himself against the rock while holding on to Heeley as the Mountie held his breath and went under attempting to release Megan's arm from under the rock that confined her, a task that was made more difficult by his life jacket. He had to come up for air but went down again immediately and this time was successful and the two men got the girl to the surface. They half dragged and half carried her the short distance through the treacherous torrent to the shore.

Both men were exhausted and breathless from fighting the rapids as they deposited Megan on the rocky shore. She was completely devoid of color except for her blue lips. "She's not breathing," Heeley yelled as he summoned what strength he had left and straddled the teen applying pressure to expel the water from her lungs. Reid felt for the carotid pulse in her neck and shook his head at Heeley. Heeley assumed a position on her right side while Reid knelt on her left. Heeley tilted her head, pinched her nostrils and gave two ragged breaths while Reid landmarked and began compressions. They worked together like a well oiled machine, compressing and breathing, for what seemed like an eternity when Megan finally coughed. More water came up from her lungs and Reid quickly turned her on her side to allow the water to drain. She had a pulse and was now breathing on her own. She looked at them but Reid wondered if she was seeing them. He prayed she had not been deprived of oxygen too long and had suffered brain damage. Four minutes, the literature said, four minutes. But being submerged in cold water could slow down the body's need for life sustaining air. This had to be one of those times, Reid told himself. It had to be.

--

Jacoby and Praznik continued maneuvering their raft, expertly fighting the furious waters, with Butler, Mercer, and the Woodhouse brothers closing the gap. They remained close to Drummond and the young man was becoming increasingly frantic in his attempt to evade them. He tried to change direction but the strong waters sent him farther back the way he had come. In the moonlight, he could see the end was near, the rapids were slowly starting to dissipate and he would soon be in more even waters. What then, he thought. How was he going to get away from these cops with guns?

--

"Megan, Megan can you hear me," Reid said to the young girl who was looking at him but appeared not to see him. Megan looked at the man leaning over her. He was saying something to her but she couldn't hear it. It sounded muffled and far away, like when you got water in your ears in the shower. She wished she could understand what he was saying. His face was familiar, where had she seen him before? She was so cold, she thought as her teeth began to chatter and her lips trembled. What had happened? She couldn't figure it out. She'd gone with Timmy and they'd been together at his cabin. It was so wonderful. They'd gone out for some firewood and then she'd seen Mr. Reid, their neighbor from across the hall at the hotel. What was he doing at Timmy's cabin and why did Timmy run away from him. He'd started chasing them and Timmy had pulled her onto the raft. She'd been terrified and when she'd asked Timmy what was going on he'd told her to shut up. Then all of a sudden she'd felt herself falling in the water. What had happened? Why was Mr. Reid bending over her and where was Timmy?

"Megan," Reid said again but the girl looked totally lost. "She's shivering," he said to Heeley. They both looked down at their own soaked clothing, knowing they had nothing to offer the girl for warmth.

"M…Mr. Reid," Megan stammered and Reid felt like weeping for joy. "What happened?"

"Hi, Megan," Reid said gently. "You fell out of the raft but you're safe now. We'll make sure nothing happens to you."

"Where's Timmy?"

"I don't know, he was still in the raft the last time I saw him," Reid responded but had to admit he was wondering the about the status of Timothy Drummond himself.

--

Finally the rushing rapids had given way to more gentle rippling waves. Drummond rowed the large craft closer to the shore and when he thought the depth shallow enough he jumped out and ran to the shore and then up a trail that went through a wooded area. Jacoby and Praznik were close behind and the eager Praznik had jumped from the raft before Jacoby had even stopped rowing and was in pursuit of their suspect. Jacoby too jumped from the craft and gave chase behind Praznik. The trail was well traveled and easy to run on. The athletic Praznik could see Drummond in the distance by the moonlight and was gaining ground on him with every step. The second raft eventually reached the calmer water and the other four men alit from their craft to join the chase.

Drummond looked back and could see Praznik gaining on him. The trail was getting steeper and running required more effort. The man was already exhausted from his efforts in rowing the raft through the rapids. Where had those men come from? How had they found him? Praznik stepped on a rock and went over on his ankle almost falling but managing to right himself. He was hopping on one foot when Jacoby reached him. "You okay," he asked with concern.

"Yeah, fine," Praznik responded, "Just get after him." Jacoby carried on running while Praznik put weight gingerly on his leg.

Drummond looked back, something had happened to the young Mountie. The other one was following him now but he wasn't nearly as fast. Drummond smirked to himself, turned and ran straight into John Woodhouse. Behind John were Butler and Mercer, their weapons drawn. "Good thing you guys knew about that short cut," Butler told John with amusement.

Jacoby came up behind him, grabbing his wrists and cuffing them. "Timothy Drummond, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and attempted murder of Megan Gautier," Jacoby stated. "You have the right to remain silent."

--

The trio was huddled together on the rocky shore when they heard it above the rushing water, the distinctive sounds of helicopter rotors. They looked up and saw the lights from the chopper shining down on them. A voice from the aircraft told them they had been spotted and rescue was imminent. The helicopter flew as close to them as possible and the door opened, delivering a man on a long line who dropped a few yards from them. The paramedic checked Megan over and tugged on the line which went back up into the aircraft only to return a few minutes later with a carrier for Megan. The paramedic put a neck brace on the girl and the three men got her onto the carrier, attached her to the line and sent her up to the waiting attendants. The line was returned and first Reid then Heeley and lastly the paramedic were lifted onto the transport. Megan was being covered with a warming blanket and vital signs were being taken.

"Did they get him Norm," Heeley asked the paramedic. Norm nodded. "Is everyone okay?"

Norm snickered, "Yeah Grant, Blair Praznik sprained his ankle but otherwise everyone's fine."

Heeley nodded his relief that Drummond was in custody and his fellow Mounties were relatively unharmed and leaned his head back on his seat. Then he nudged Reid in the arm with his elbow. "So," he said, "How do you like Canada so far?"


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies

--

Reid sat on a stretcher in a Lake Louise ER examination room. He was fine; he really didn't need to be here. Reid had told this to the paramedics, the doctors and Inspector Butler but nobody, it appeared, would listen. He wanted to call Allie but they wouldn't let him use his cell in here, assuming his cell phone still worked considering it had been submerged in the wild waters of the Kicking Horse River. Even a prisoner gets one call, he thought. On the stretcher across from him sat Constable Grant Heeley. He didn't seem to have a problem being stuck in the ER but then he appeared to be making the most of his chances to play up his role in the events of the evening for a pretty young nurse. She was medium height; her shoulder length sandy brown hair streaked with blond highlights was swept up in a blue butterfly clip and caught the light when she turned her head. Her green eyes twinkled like she was suppressing a joke. The nametag on her blue scrubs proclaimed her to be Melanie, RN.

"And we had to go down the rapids chasing this guy in a raft. I mean it was really dangerous. Spencer and I jumped into that hell hole of water to save that little girl, didn't we Spencer?" He nodded at Reid to agree with him.

"Yeah, we did, Grant was really terrific," Reid responded to which Heeley gave him a thumbs up. Well Reid didn't consider he was lying or overstating Grant Heeley's case. Despite the fact that they had not seen eye to eye in the beginning when it came right down to the job, Heeley had been terrific.

"I don't know Grant," Melanie said as she took his blood pressure, "I think you're a legend in your own mind." She removed the cuff. "Your pressure's up a little." She wrote her findings on a clipboard, totally ignoring the love struck Mountie.

She moved over to Reid and took the cuff from the sphygmomanometer attached to the wall and wrapped it around his arm. She pushed the button and the cuff began to tighten, registering his blood pressure on the monitor. "Can you tell me how Megan's doing," Reid asked Melanie.

"They're doing x-rays to make sure nothing's broken. If the doctor thinks it's necessary we may have to send her to Banff for CAT scans to rule out any internal injury but so far it looks good. She's still really frightened and confused, poor girl." Melanie removed the cuff and made her notations. "Your vitals are fine, Dr. Reid. The doctor will be in soon to check you over and then you'll probably be released." She moved toward the door and then turned back to Heeley. "Now you see Grant, Dr. Reid never made a big deal about what he did to help save Megan and gosh, he even asked about her." She shook her head, walking out the door. Grant gave Reid a steely stare to which Reid shrugged apologetically.

Why did time in the ER seem to stand still? You waited to get in, well, he hadn't actually waited to get in, he thought. They'd gotten in as soon as the chopper landed but they'd tended to Megan first, of course. They'd brought the two men hospital pajamas so they could get out of their wet clothing. They'd been wrapped in warm blankets and then they'd waited until the lovely Melanie had come to do their vitals and now, once again, they waited.

"I've been trying to get that woman for almost two years now. She won't give me the time of day. She's so…oh I don't know, she's very caring, she's got this great sense of humor and well you can see how beautiful she is. But maybe I should just face the facts and give it up," Grant lamented.

"Two years is a long time to be chasing after a woman," Reid remarked.

"You think I should give up, eh," he asked?

"I didn't say that," Reid replied. He'd gotten the feeling from her body language that the woman wasn't totally averse to his companion's advances. "Maybe you should change your approach."

"What do you mean, what's wrong with my approach," the Mountie seemed shocked that he could be found wanting. It made Reid think of Morgan. "Okay, what did you do to snag that pretty babe of yours? What was your approach?" He made quotation marks with his fingers.

Reid was silent for a moment, looking down, "Uh, well, uh, actually, she was the one that asked me out." Reid finally stated.

"You're shittin' me, right? You're telling me you didn't have to lift a finger and that babe just asked you out?" Reid nodded. "I don't believe it!"

"Best decision I ever made," came a voice from the doorway. Both men looked up to see Allie standing in the entrance, her arms full of Reid's clothing. "What do you mean going white water rafting without me?" He jumped down from the stretcher and cursed to himself as his bare feet hit the cold hard linoleum flooring of the ER. He took the clothes and shoes from her arms and deposited them on the stretcher before pulling her into an embrace and claiming her lips.

Grant Heeley tried not to watch as Allie's arms snaked around Reid's neck and her fingers raked through his still damp tangled locks as Reid pulled her closer. The Mountie looked at the dull ER flooring, the clock on the wall above the door, the blood pressure machines, the EKG monitors, carts stacked with needles bandages, swabs, IV solutions and bedpans, in fact anywhere to avoid looking at the couple. Finally he said, "Get a room already!"

"We have a room, thank you very much, and we'll get back to it as soon as we can," Allie stated somewhat sharply.

"Yeah," Heeley replied. "Sorry about that." He again looked at his hands. Allie raised her eyebrows at Reid and he mouthed silently, "I'll tell you later." Allie nodded.

"How are Terry and Judy," Reid asked after he and Allie finally broke apart.

"Extremely relieved that Megan's alive, worried that something like this could happen to her and very grateful for what you guys did," she looked at both Reid and Heeley.

"I'm just glad we got to her when we did," Reid responded and Heeley nodded his agreement.

"Is this a private party or can anybody join," they heard from the doorway and turned to see Constable Blair Praznik, his ankle wrapped in a tensor bandage, leaning on a crutch. "Excuse me for saying but you guys look like hell," he added.

"Yeah," Heeley said, "Well you don't look like Baryshnikov yourself."

"I'm glad to see you're both okay. We can't get rid of your ugly mug no matter what we do, can we Grant." Praznik expected some smart retort from his coworker but Heeley said nothing . Blair raised his eyebrows and at Reid who shrugged.

Melanie returned accompanied by Dr. Downey and Allie and Blair were asked to leave the room. The doctor examined both men and pronounced that except for a few bruises they were uninjured and could be released. Reid dressed quickly and went in search of Allie, who he found sitting in the waiting room. "Where's Heeley," Allie asked.

"Oh, he's coming." Reid replied.

"What was up with him in there, Mr. mouthy seemed somewhat subdued." Allie wanted to know.

"There's a nurse here that he likes, he's been trying to attract her for two years but he doesn't seem to be getting anywhere with her and he's ready to give up. Although I think, from her body language, that she's not as uninterested as she lets on." Reid informed her.

"Hmm!" Allie said.

"What do you mean by that," Reid asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing, uh so which nurse is it that he likes…."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: If you don't know by now…

--

Reid opened his eyes, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings. His clearing vision took in the room and he saw, once again, through the vast windows, the majestic mountain backdrop to the tranquil blue water. He longed to stretch but the head of dark hair that rested on his chest forestalled that idea. They had been up well into the night. Reid had needed to get into that Jacuzzi after the events of the evening. They had happily discovered that it was indeed big enough for two and after testing out their theory, they had made love in harmony with the massaging jets. Afterward, wrapped in each other's arms, they had talked for a long time about what had transpired that evening. Then, swathed in fine Egyptian cotton, they had made love a second time. Reid gazed lovingly at her beautiful face, relaxed in sleep, her tousled dark brown hair splayed across his torso, in sharp contrast to his own pale skin.

He caressed the soft tresses ever so gently so as not to waken his sleeping beauty and thought about the previous evening. They had seen Terry, Judy and the kids before heading back to the hotel. The Gautiers were extremely concerned that something like this could befall one of their children. Terry spoke about making arrangements for their security and Reid hoped this didn't cause him to become too overprotective. Judy was a basket case. All her strength had deserted her once she knew her daughter was safe. They had seen Megan in her hospital room and although she had spoken briefly to Allie, she had refused to look at him. It couldn't be easy, he thought, trying to deal with feelings of hurt, both physical and emotional, vulnerability, gullibility, embarrassment, and even shame, with a profiler in the room, especially one that had been a witness to the murderous intent of a man she had been convinced loved her.

They'd also seen Inspector Butler, who had arrived at the hospital after Drummond was secured at the Lake Louise Detachment, to ensure that his men were all okay. He had thanked both Reid and Allie for their assistance. He had added that although he realized Reid was on vacation, he would require him to come to the detachment and fill out a report detailing his involvement leading to the rescue of Megan Gautier and the capture of Timothy Drummond. He'd assured Inspector Butler he would come into the detachment this morning and submit a report. Reid smiled to himself, oh yeah, there's always the paperwork!

"What are you smiling about," asked the sleepy voice of the woman he loved.

"I was just thinking, it must be the same the world over, you catch the bad guy and then you do the paperwork."

"Oh, well," she raised herself up on her elbows, "It shouldn't take you long at the speed your mind moves."

Reid chuckled, "You'd think so wouldn't you, but I can't type as fast as I can think and read. My body can't always keep up with my mind."

"Oh, I don't know about that. I was here last night, remember, and I got no complaints with anything your body was doing."

"So what are you going to do while I'm fulfilling my duty to the RCMP?"

"Oh man," Allie said getting off the bed and slipping into her robe, "I am going to that spa and getting so pampered that when I'm finished, I'm going to be a new woman." She entered the bathroom and closed the door.

"What if I like the old woman," Reid said quietly to the air?

"I'm going to have a sauna, a body wrap and a facial," Allie continued when she opened the bathroom door, as if there had been no pause in their conversation. "I'm gonna get massaged, manicured, pedicured, waxed, the works. You'll love me when I'm done," she assured him.

"I love you now," he said as he donned his sweat pants and Harvard tee shirt, stood and stretched languidly. "So how long does this totally unnecessary beautification take?"

"Well, it takes a while. Just think, you can hang out with your new friends at the RCMP and when I'm done, I'll be so mellow, I'll be putty in your hands."

"They're not my friends, I hardly know them," Reid protested. "And I don't want you to be putty in my hands, I kind of like you feisty!"

"Oh come on, I saw you bonding with Grant Heeley in the hospital. We should try to do something to help him out with Melanie."

"Whoa, stop right there Miss Lonelyhearts. We are not getting involved with Grant and Melanie. We already got involved with the Gautiers and look where that got us."

"It's all your fault," she said and Reid squinted and shook his head, not understanding what he had to do with the whole thing, compelling Allie to explain her logic, "Can I help it if I'm so blissfully in love that I want everyone else to be too?"

--

Reid had just completed typing up his statement for the RCMP. Inspector Butler had been at the detachment as had Blair Praznik who was on desk duty due to his sprained ankle. He had insisted it wasn't bad enough to keep him home. Like Gideon, a few years back, he'd found the crutch too much of an inconvenience and preferred to hop around on one foot.

"Thank you again, Dr. Reid," Zack Butler offered Reid his hand. "I'm sure we wouldn't have gotten Timothy Drummond nearly as quickly without your assistance."

"I'm glad I could help but I really don't think I'm the one you should be thanking." Inspector Butler looked confused, Reid continued. "I had a profile and initials from Megan's diary, however, we would have had no idea who TD was without Allie's great work on the watermark and Penelope Garcia's computer expertise. Not to mention, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere without the guidance of the Woodhouse Brothers. It was your own men and the Woodhouse Brothers who knew how to navigate the rapids. Constable Heeley was the one who went under the rapids to release Megan and it was John and Darren who knew the shortcut to aid in capturing Drummond. I did very little."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have had any idea that it was someone she knew without the profile and would never have looked in her diary in the first place," Blair interjected. "I'd say it was a team effort and we made a pretty good team." Just as Praznik finished, the door to the detachment opened admitting Mercer, Jacoby and Heeley.

"Dr. Reid has just concluded writing his statement." Butler informed the constables after they'd all greeted him pleasantly.

"Hey Spencer," Jacoby said, "Why don't you let us buy you and your lady a drink tonight after we're off duty. We could meet you at the Chateau bar. It's nice there." Praznik and Heeley nodded in agreement to the idea.

"I could bring Cheryl," Praznik said, "And Brian could bring Denise and then Allie wouldn't feel left out as the only woman. What about you Constable Mercer, are you going to come with your wife."

"No, I'll leave that to you young people," the older man replied.

"I'm going back to Calgary as soon as two staff sergeants arrive to help with the transfer of Drummond to the Calgary detachment," Butler informed them before he was asked.

Reid didn't know how to turn them down without appearing rude. He had really wanted this evening alone with Allie, he had plans but it would have to wait another day. Damn, oh well, Allie had wanted him to 'hang out with his new friends' so she couldn't really object could she, considering she wasn't privy to his plan in the first place.

--

Allie looked totally relaxed after the time she'd spent at the spa. Reid had to admit that although she didn't look any different, she seemed to glow and if she was happy, he was happy. She also seemed happy about the upcoming evening with the constables and their partners. She exited the bathroom, in a strapless black cocktail dress with an empire waist that fell to just above her knee and black sandals with a medium stiletto heel completing her ensemble. She found Reid leaning against the fireplace in charcoal grey dress pants, a striped shirt in three shades of blue with a charcoal tie that matched his pants and a black jacket. "Wow," she said, "I don't think I've seen you wearing that before."

"You're not the only one who can go shopping, you know," Reid replied.

The others were already at the bar when Reid and Allie arrived. They had chosen a large table in the corner with an excellent view. The music by one pianist was lively but not overly loud. A few couples were on the small dance floor. Allie looked pleased and surprised when she recognized Brian Jacoby's wife Denise, "Hi again," she said, "Honey this is Denise," she indicated the pretty woman with short curly blonde hair and friendly blue eyes, "She was my manicurist at the spa today."

Reid said he was pleased to meet her. The couple was also introduced to Cheryl Yoshida, Blair Praznik's girlfriend, a beautiful young woman of Japanese descent with long black hair that curled at the edges. They learned she was a dental hygienist in the village. Grant Heeley, Allie noticed, was alone and glanced meaningfully at Reid who shrugged.

The group ordered drinks and the women were interested to find out what it was like for both Reid and Allie being in the FBI. They had heard their partners' side of the events of the kidnapping and were interested in hearing Reid and Allie's take on the case. Grant Heeley had gotten up to go to the men's room and returned to his seat looking out of breath. "Are you okay, Grant," Denise asked.

"I don't know," Grant responded but his voice had taken on a distinct wheeze. "It's hard to breathe," the constable suddenly started to gasp.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: The usual disclaimer applies

--

"Grant," Brian said, "Take some slow deep breaths, okay."

"C..can't," Grant wheezed, "Breathe."

"He needs to get to the hospital right away," Reid stated. "Grant, are you allergic to anything?" The officer shook his head. "It's not an allergy then," Reid decided. "Do you use inhalers or anything?" Again Heeley shook his head.

"Can you walk to the car," Brian asked, concern for his friend manifest on his face. Heeley nodded and the group stood and hurried to the vehicle, leaving Blair to hobble on his injured ankle.

Grant was placed in the back seat. "Honey, you ride in the back with him," Allie suggested. "You'll know more of what to do than anyone else." Reid nodded and got in the back seat with Heeley. "I'll come with Blair and Cheryl in his car," she added before he closed the door.

Brian started the vehicle and peeled out of the Chateau parking lot at top speed. Heeley was definitely in distress, Reid noted as the man struggled for breath. His lips had taken on a bluish tinge. "Hurry Brian," Reid said as quietly and calmly as he could.

"Jesus Spencer, I'm going as fast as I can. We are careening down the side of a mountain, you know."

They arrived at the ER in record time although Reid had to agree, driving down those sharp mountain curves at 70km/h when the speed limit was 30km/h was not something he wished to repeat any time soon. Reid opened his back door, saying, "Get a wheelchair," as he rounded the car and opened the passenger side door. Grant Heeley would have fallen out had Reid not caught him. Brian returned with a wheelchair and an attendant. "He's in severe respiratory distress, he needs help immediately," he told the attendant who nodded and wheeled Grant into the ER with Brian, Denise and Reid following.

The attendant wheeled Grant into an examination room, calling out to some nurses at the desk as he went. The nurses responded immediately, helping the attendant get him on to the stretcher. Nancy started vital signs while Mike hooked the patient up to oxygen and attached EKG leads to his torso. The rhythm graph could be seen on the monitor. "Sinus rhythm, tachy at 128," Mike informed Nancy.

Lori, who had called for Dr. Downey, entered the room and proceeded to get equipment ready for an IV insertion. Dr. Downey arrived and recognized Grant from the night before and started calling out orders. "CBC, BUN, Lytes, Creatinine, CK, CKMB, Troponin, ABGs and a renal panel. Get a chest x-ray PA and lateral. What's his pressure?"

"98/50," Nancy responded. "Sats are only 80, low grade temp of 37.8."

"Start an IV of Ringer's Lactate at a hundred, let's get that pressure up." He put his stethoscope in his ears and listened to the Mountie's chest sounds. "Course crackles, okay, Lasix 40 IV, Morphine 5 IV, 400 of Cipro IV stat. Put him on a ten liter non rebreathe." He turned and left the nurses to their work.

The three couples sat in the waiting room furnished with a couch with metal arms and legs, upholstered in a blue vinyl with matching chairs. Why did the furniture in waiting rooms always seem so uncomfortable, Reid thought? A coffee table, with a laminate finish in the same shade of blue and matching metal legs, held some old magazines that none of them was interested in reading. No one spoke until Allie asked Reid, "Do you think this has anything to do with last night?"

"Absolutely," Reid replied. "I think when he went underwater to release Megan from that rock, Grant took on some water. He didn't realize it at the time but it's built up over the last day. It happens to some swimmers and divers. It's called swimming induced pulmonary edema. It's very dangerous."

"What do you mean," Blair raised his voice. "You don't think he could die, do you!"

"It's happened," Reid told them.

It was a much more somber group that watched Melanie and the admissions clerk walk by a few minutes later. Melanie noticed the group in the waiting room. "Hey, hi guys, what are you all doing here. You didn't catch another kidnapper did you?" She laughed but her face went flat when no one smiled. "What's wrong?"

They all looked at one another and finally Brian told her about Grant. The woman's voice cracked. "N…no, he was fine last night," she stated.

"Spencer thinks he's got some kind of edema that swimmers get," Brian told her.

She looked back and forth between Brian and Reid putting a shaking hand to her mouth. "I…I have to go," Melanie backed out of the room and ran down the hallway to the examination room.

Reid whispered to Allie, "You might not have to do much matchmaking after all."

She stood in the doorway. The tests had now been completed. Grant was lying on the stretcher, the siderails were up and the head was raised to improve his breathing. An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth. A blood pressure cuff still encircled his right arm and the probe of a pulse oximeter covered the tip of his right index finger. An IV was infusing into his left arm. Leads from the heart monitor covered his chest and the steady blip could be heard softly in the background. His eyes were closed. Nancy was just leaving the room. "How is he," Melanie asked?

"Better than he was. His sats are over ninety now. Blood pressure's up. Lab work's not bad. He's not as tachy as he was. Dr. Downey hasn't seen the x-ray yet. It's wait and see," she patted her friend on the shoulder.

What had happened, he wondered? They were having drinks with Spencer and Allie and all of a sudden he felt like he couldn't breathe. He thought he was going to die. What was wrong with him? It was scary, he thought, as a soft hand slid into his left one and squeezed. He opened his eyes and she was there looking at him like he'd always hoped. He must be dreaming. Were those tears in her eyes? Why was she crying? He just didn't understand anything tonight but suddenly he wasn't scared. That wasn't true, he told himself. Seeing the look he'd prayed for forever made him more scared than he'd ever been. It was a good scared.

Dr. Downey had come to inform them that Grant did indeed have pulmonary edema and they were treating it with diuretics, antibiotics and oxygen therapy. The patient was breathing better now but was going to be kept in the hospital for a few days. The group heaved a huge collective sigh of relief.

"Have you ever been injured in the line of duty Spencer," Denise asked.

Reid didn't know quite how to respond. Was a drug addiction, forced on you while you were kidnapped, being injured in the line of duty. He supposed it was but he said, "Yeah, I had some bones in my foot broken once and I was shot twice, once in DC and once in Atlantic City."

"You know we don't think about that a lot in this neck of the woods," Denise continued. It's not a major crime hub like the big cities, but still something can happen at any time. I guess you can't put things off. You have to live every day like it's your last."

You're right, Reid thought, you can't put things off. You may never get another chance. Reid stood, grabbing a surprised Allie's hand, "We have to go."

--

The discussion that had started in Blair Praznik's car, which he'd insisted they take to get them to the hotel, carried over as they entered their hotel room and Allie kicked off her shoes. "Honey, I still don't know why you were in such an all fired hurry to get out of there,"

"We came here to be together so that's what we should do. We're spending too much time on other people," Reid responded in his defense. "Denise was right, you shouldn't put things off. You never know."

"Okay, whatever you say, I guess we can visit Grant tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure we can." Reid removed his jacket and tie and paced the room a little as Allie sat on the loveseat and tucked her feet under her. "Let's go for a walk," he suggested. "When we went looking for Megan last night, I noticed how beautiful the lake was in the moonlight and I knew we should see it together," he exclaimed.

Allie looked at him strangely. "You want to go for a walk, now!" Her tone was skeptical. "Are you sure about this?"

"I got through it last night and I'm sure it'll be okay. Could you change and we'll just go for a short walk." Reid was insistent.

Allie sauntered to the closet, shaking her head as she went.. She withdrew some slacks, a sweater and a jacket and headed for the bathroom. She returned in black slacks a white cowl necked sweater and a black bolero jacket. Reid had donned his jacket once again but left his tie on the table.

They left the hotel strolling hand in hand on a path near the shore. Allie agreed; Spencer had been right. Seeing the lake and the mountains at night was a must. The moon reflected off the water giving it a sheen that made it look like glass except for the ripples and small waves. The only sound was the water lapping at the shoreline.

"Oh what a day, first the spa which made me feel glorious and now this," she threw her head back and breathed in the fresh air. "It's so beautiful and relaxing. You were right honey, thanks for insisting I come. This is the end to a perfect day, well except for Grant, of course."

"It's not over," Reid said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"You said it was the end to a perfect day. The day's not over yet you know." They had come to an attractive little white metalwork bench and Reid indicated for Allie to sit.

"Well no, I guess it's not," she raised her eyebrows and smiled, "What did you have in mind big boy?"

"What did I have in mind, oh, uh, well yeah, what did I have in mind," he said again. His hands were shaking slightly so he rested them on his thighs hoping Allie wouldn't notice.

That hope faded when she said, "Honey is your PTSD acting up? Maybe we should go back."

"No! No," he blurted out, standing up. "We can't go back yet, not until I…"

"Not until you what Spencer?" Allie looked totally confused.

"Oh, I uh n..nothing," he stammered wearily.

"No, Spencer, what; did you want to walk into the woods as some kind of test? Is that it? We can do that if you want. I mean, I understand your PTSD so much better after what happened to me and my sessions with Audrey Pynchon," Allie concluded.

"No, I don't want to walk in the woods. Let's just go back to the room." He suddenly looked very unhappy. Allie put her hand in his and they had walked silently for a short distance when she stopped.

"What's wrong, you seemed so eager and happy before and now you seem upset. Is it something I said?"

"No, it's not your fault, it's me." Reid looked at the ground.

"What's you," she turned to face him and took both of his hands in hers. "What's you," she repeated.

"It was supposed to be so nice, you know. I read books and everything on what to do and say, because I'm not cool or suave like Morgan, or subtle and good at speeches like Hotch, or the confident man about town like Rossi. The books said find a romantic place, well, duh," he raised his hands up to indicate their surroundings. "I thought I couldn't go wrong here but, of course, I'm not like most men."

Allie's eyes grew big when the realization of what Spencer was saying hit her. He had been trying to ask her… And she had gone on and on about PTSD. No wonder he looked so dejected. "No," she said quietly, "You're not like any other man I've ever known." He nodded, looking at the ground. She put her hand under his chin and lifted his face so her eyes looked into his. "You're definitely smarter but more importantly, you're kinder, gentler, and more sensitive. That's why I love you like I could love no other man." She took both of his hands again. "Forget the books, forget about Hotch, Morgan, Rossi or anything you've heard or read, just say what you feel. Say what's in your heart."

"What's in my heart, you're in my heart, always. You're my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night, no matter where I am. Nobody's ever touched me like you and I don't mean physically," he gave her a little smirk, "Well that too. You're the first woman I've felt let me be," his voice cracked, "Well, me. I love you. I love you when you're dressed to the nines. I love you in old jeans, your hair in a pony tail with dirt on your face from transplanting houseplants. I love you when you're happy, when you're sad, when you're funny or when you're angry. I love you whether you have PTSD or PMS. And I know I'll love you forever. So, Allie Graham," he got down on one knee, "Will you marry me?"


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies

A/N: Okay CC, here's my attempt at 'a study in scarlet' just for you. Hope you like it and do the happy dance after the excruciatingly long wait!

--

Tears streamed unchecked down Allie's face. She said nothing. Reid stood, taking her hands in his. "Allie are you okay? I…I didn't mean to make you cry. Say something, please!"

"I..can't," she choked. "I don't know what to say."

"You can't? You can't what? Marry me, you can't marry me, is that what you're saying?"

"No!" She exclaimed. "A..after what you just said," she wiped her hand across her tear stained cheek. "It's hard to f..find the words. N..no one ever said anything so beautiful to me. I love you. I have since the first time I saw you in the halls at Quantico and you gave me one of those smiles that light up your face and those beautiful eyes mesmerized me. From that moment on I was lost. I will be happy and proud to be your wife. Yes, I'll marry you Spencer Reid."

"Really," Reid's eyes widened. "Really," he said again. Allie nodded and she was suddenly captured in his arms. He kissed her deeply but abruptly pulled away. "Oh, I forgot." He dug in his pocket and nestled in his long fingers was a small blue velvet box. His hands shook as he opened it. "I wanted to get you something really nice so I did research on the four C's, you know, color, clarity, cut and carat. I went to a lot of jewelers. They all told me the princess cut was the most popular. I even looked through their loupes to examine the color and clarity. And well the different carat…" Reid stopped when Allie spoke excitedly.

"Honey, that's really nice, and I really do want to hear about it sometime but right now," she shook her left hand in front of him, "Please, put the ring on my finger."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Reid took the ring from the box and cradled her left hand in his and slipped the ring on her finger.

Allie looked at her hand. The one carat, princess cut diamond solitaire set in white gold glistened in the moonlight. The tears began again, "It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen."

The return journey to the hotel took longer as Allie had to stop every few yards to look once again at her ring. She babbled excitedly about what kind of wedding she'd like and Reid saw in her eyes the dreams of every little girl from the time they first learn about weddings and white dresses. Watching the joy on his fiancé's face as she chatted animatedly about the upcoming nuptials, he felt at peace and finally embraced the happiness that had eluded him since childhood.

They entered their hotel room and Allie danced around the room, looking at the ring on her hand in the different shades of light and how that light reflected off the gem. She finally noticed the silver ice bucket on the table that contained a bottle of the hotel's best champagne. Two crystal flutes sat beside the bucket. "Where did…" Allie said pointing to the objects on the table.

"I called while you were changing and they said they'd have it here when we got back." He took the bottle, wrapped in a linen napkin, from the bucket and proceeded to pop the cork and the bubbly liquid spurted out flowing down the side of the bottle. He poured the champagne into the flutes and handed one to Allie. Her dark eyes shimmered with tears as she took the offered glass. "Um, I know I should say something brilliant and witty but," his voice choked, "I um, I guess I'm more emotional than I thought, anyway, I just realized that, for someone recognized for his brain power, following my heart was the smartest thing I've ever done." Unbidden tears filled his own eyes. "I love you and I'm so happy you want to marry me." He touched his glass to hers and brought it to his lips as Allie did likewise. "Sorry, I know that wasn't very good. I'm not very romantic…"

"Oh, you're doing pretty great so far," Allie interjected as a tear spilled down her cheek. Reid took the glass from her hand and put it on the table with his own, leaning in to kiss the woman he loved. The kiss deepened when Allie pulled away, "Wait, I want to change into something special."

Allie dug into the drawers containing her clothes and pulled out a couple of items. Reid watched her remove the very scant silk nightie. He shed his jacket. His heart started to race in anticipation as his beautiful Allie headed for the bathroom. At the door she turned back to him. "Let's make a deal," she said. "I'll put on this," she held up the small see through garment, "And you put on these." She pulled a hand from behind her back and on the end of her index finger dangled a pair of red silk boxers.

Reid's eyes widened, "Ah s..sweetheart, that's not the kind of thing I u..usually wear," he stammered nervously.

"I know that honey but tonight's special and when the girls and I were shopping, we all thought you'd look really sexy in these," the perky brunette replied.

Reid's eyes widened more, if that was possible. "The girls, JJ, Emily and Garcia, talked about me wearing," he pointed to the garment in question, "Th..those?"

"Well, yeah honey," she responded nonchalantly.

"Oh my God," he grabbed the offending piece of clothing from her hand and scrunched it up between his long fingers. "How could you have done that? How am I supposed to work with them, now that I know…?"

"Honey, relax," Allie started to giggle which seemed to exasperate him even more.

"Relax," he squeaked. "You just told me you and the women I work with discussed me dressed in," he paused, "Or undressed is more like it."

"Oh honey, I don't know whether you're just naïve or totally clueless. I've said it before and I'll say it again, women check you out. You're an attractive man. And don't tell me that if I asked you, you couldn't tell me the most attractive feature of the women you work with because I know you could because you've checked them out too." She went into the bathroom and closed the door.

Reid sat on the edge of the bed and considered Allie's words. Well of course he'd noticed the women he worked with were very pretty. That was undeniable. And well, yeah, he'd noticed JJ's body and how the form fitting dresses and sweaters she wore showed it off. He guessed he'd noticed Emily's figure and he had to admit he really liked the bangs. And Garcia, well she was like a big sister to him. He wouldn't think like that about Garcia. But he had to admit, if he was honest with himself, that when she hugged him he'd realized how soft and cushiony the breasts of a full figured woman could be. He'd always chastised himself for these thoughts, thinking he was some kind of pervert but maybe he was…normal!

He looked at the boxers still in his hand and back at the bathroom door. He'd promised himself that this week, and especially tonight, was for Allie and she wanted this. He'd be deluding himself if he thought Allie was more comfortable in that skimpy piece of silk than in her granny nightgown or the care bear pajamas she wore eating popcorn and chocolate chip cookies in front of the TV. She was wearing that for him and the least he could do is try as hard to please her. He stood and started to undo his pants.

Allie opened the door a little while later to find the room in darkness except for a couple of candles burning on the nightstands. A nice touch, she thought, he may not think he's romantic but he's learning. She moved closer into the light. Also on the nightstand sat a silver tray, along with the bottle of champagne and the two flutes were three silver bowls, one with strawberries and the second with chocolate sauce and a third with whipped cream. On the bed sat Reid with the covers pulled up to his waist.

Reid looked at Allie as she walked into the light, the scent of her perfume wafting through the air. She was so beautiful. She wore the sheer ivory chemise that fell barely below her buttocks. Lace covered her breasts but left nothing to the imagination. She also wore an ivory thong matching the lace over her breasts. Reid felt his heart rate and breathing go into overdrive at the sight of her.

"Wow," she said as she looked at everything.

"Wow," he said in response, never taking his eyes off her.

She reached the bed and he reached for her. She backed up a step and asked, "Did you put them on?"

"Yes," he replied, reaching for her again.

She backed up one more step, "Well, let's see," she said.

Reid flipped the covers back quickly, allowing her the briefest glimpse of red silk. "Come on honey, I need to see more than that, out," she motioned for him to get out of bed. He gave her a pleading look but she motioned again with her thumb for him to get out of the bed. Finally, seeing no way around it, he got out of bed and stood before his fiancé.

"There," he said, "Happy." He couldn't take his eyes off her body and what the sheer fabric revealed.

Allie's eyes widened as she was experiencing the same appreciation of his body. "Very," she replied as she looked from the hair she loved to run her fingers through, to his handsome face with those expressive eyes, that at the moment smoldered with desire, to his shoulders, down his hairless chest to the magic fingers that were sheer ecstasy and lastly to the red silk boxers that revealed his body's betrayal of his eagerness.

He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply as his hands went underneath the sheer fabric and felt her buttocks. She moaned as she trailed kisses down his neck and shoulders feeling the hardness as his manhood pressed against her. "There's one thing you can be happy about," she whispered against his ear as she nipped his earlobe.

"Hmm, what's that," he asked as his hands roamed over her body.

"You won't have to wear them for long!"


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies

--

Allie reached over from her position wrapped in Spencer's arms and plucked yet another red juicy strawberry from the shiny silver bowl, dipping it first in the creamy chocolate, then in the fluffy whipped cream before offering it to her fiancé, who giggled. "First it was more champagne, now it's strawberries drenched in chocolate and whipped cream. I can't decide whether you're trying to get me drunk or fat."

"Neither one, I'm just trying to keep you happy," she answered running her tongue over his lips that were coated with chocolate as his tongue slid out to meet hers.

He inclined his head toward the table holding the champagne and the fruit. "You don't need either of those to achieve that. Believe me, I'm happy!" Reid ran his hand over her bare back. The lacy chemise and the red silk boxers lay forgotten on the floor near the bed, long ago discarded in the heat of the couple's passion.

Allie held her hand out in front of her to, once again, admire the ring Spencer had put there only a few short hours before. It was getting difficult to see in the waning light as the candles melted down. Suddenly she took in a sharp breath. "I have to call my mother," she sat up straight in the bed.

"Uh, Allie, it's late here and it's the middle of the night in Ohio. I think it could wait until the morning." Reid was concentrating his long fingers once more on the sensual exploration of Allie's curves.

"No, she'll want to know. She won't care if I wake her up. Really!" As she reached for the telephone on the other nightstand, Reid bent his head and nuzzled her breasts. "Hmm, I really wanted to tell my Mom…but hmm…I suppose it could…wait."

"Um, yeah, I really do think it could wait until the morning. It's not just that I would like to resume our previous activity but," he paused, not sure how his next statement would be received, "I kind of wanted to talk to your father first."

"Talk to my father, what for?" Reid looked down and then her eyes grew big. "You want to ask my Dad for my hand, don't you." She started to giggle, "That's so cute and sooo medieval." She bent her head to feather her lips along his chest as her hand rubbed his thigh taking his arousal up another notch. "Okay," she replied, "I'll wait. Hmm," she moaned, "I guess we could think of something to do in the meantime."

--

Lloyd Graham sat in his den working on a writ. He sipped his steaming coffee. He had to be in court early so he saw no reason to go into the office before then. It was more comfortable here anyway. He looked at his computer screen. No change in the chess game he was having with Spencer. He guessed he and Allie were enjoying their vacation in Canada and he hadn't found time to make a move, though damn, Lloyd wished he would. The last move he'd made hadn't been his best and he'd left his queen vulnerable, a situation Lloyd could hardly wait to use to his advantage. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. "Lloyd Graham."

There was a pause on the line before a voice said, "Hello, Mr. Graham, it's Spencer Reid."

"Oh, hello Spencer, how's the vacation? I was just thinking of you actually. I was looking at the chess board hoping for a move but I imagine you've been busy."

"Uh, yes sir, we have. I'll try to get to a computer and make a move right after breakfast." Reid paused again. "The reason I'm calling is that last night I…uh…well, I asked Allie to marry me. Uh, she said yes and she really wants to tell her mom but I thought I should talk to you first and make sure there were no objections. You know that I love your daughter very much and I'll do everything in my power to keep her safe and make her happy."

Lloyd smiled, "I can't say I'm totally surprised by this Spencer and I know how much you love Allie and I do trust that you'll do all you can to make her life the best it can be. I'm sure I speak for both Joan and myself when I say we'll be very happy to welcome you to our family. It feels like we already have, so tell Allie to call her mother and I'll talk to her later. Give her my love."

"Oh, thank you so much sir, I feel so much better." Reid heaved a sigh of relief.

"Spencer, how about you do me a favor and stop calling Mr. Graham and sir. Call me Lloyd or if you like, Dad, okay."

"Sure," Spencer replied, "If that's what you'd like s..I mean, L..Lloyd."

"Fine, Spencer, I do have to go, I'm off to court. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and I'll probably talk to you both later. Take good care of my little girl," Lloyd admonished.

"I will Lloyd, you have no worries there." Reid hung up the phone and threw both his fists in the air, " Yes!"

Allie exited the bathroom clad in navy chinos complimented with a white high necked blouse and topped with a navy and white striped tunic. Her flat navy shoes gave a hint to her plans for the day, plans, Allie knew, that Reid had been dreading, shopping. She couldn't be expected to go home without souvenirs for everyone, could she? The look of triumph on his face made her think it might not be so bad after all. "Well," she said, "Someone looks happy."

"I just talked to your Dad and he gave us his blessing. He said to tell you he loves you." Reid smiled warmly at his fiancé.

"Doesn't surprise me. My dad thinks you're gr.." A soft knock sounded on the door. Allie crossed the room opening the door to find Megan Gautier standing there. She wore jeans and a powder blue tee shirt appliquéd with tiny crystals covered with a denim jacket. She had overdone the makeup, Allie thought, using too much blue eye shadow that matched the blue streak in her hair. Deep brown lipstick made her lips stand out, which was accentuated by the fact that she was chewing rather noisily on a large wad of gum. "Hi Megan," Allie gave the girl a broad smile. "It's good to see you're alright."

"Yeah right," the girl said, chomping on her gum. She looked past Allie to Reid, "I need to talk to you."

"Sure Megan, come in," Reid replied.

The girl walked past Allie and after she had closed the door, turned to her and said pointedly, "Alone."

"Oh well," Allie said hesitantly, "Uh okay, why don't I go down and get us a table in the restaurant for breakfast." She walked over to the desk and picked up her purse, slipping the strap over her shoulder. "I'll see you downstairs." She gave Reid a quick kiss, nodding to the girl, "Megan," she said as she exited the room.

"Okay Megan," Reid began, "What was so important that you had to chase Allie out of her own hotel room?"

Reid noted the girl's defensive posture as she crossed her arms in front of her and stared at him defiantly. "My brothers told me you read my diary. I noticed the lock was broken so I checked with my Mom and Dad and they told me it was true."

"I'm sorry Megan but we needed to get information on who you might be seeing so we could find you."

"You read my private thoughts, you had no right," the girl accused.

"I can understand how you would feel that way but I thought invading your privacy was outweighed by our need to find you before you were hurt," Reid explained to the distraught teen.

"Timmy cared about me. He wouldn't have hurt me," Megan insisted.

"What," Reid was incredulous. "Open your eyes. The guy hit you with an oar sending you sprawling into the rapids. He didn't care whether you lived or died, only that he get away."

"You guys didn't leave him any choices," the girl continued.

"Megan, listen to yourself. You're defending a man who tried to kill you."

"He only did it because you guys were chasing him," Megan argued. "If you'd only left us alone everything would have been great but oh no, my parents have to send the RCMP and the freaking FBI after us. You don't know what it's like to have your parents constantly in your life, in your business."

"No," Reid said quietly, looking at his hands. "No Megan, I don't. I wish to God I did. I would have given anything to have my parents care the way yours do."

"So are you going to tell my parents what you read? Are you going to screw me over too?"

Reid's mouth dropped at the girl's audacity. "No, contrary to what you may think, the whole world is not out to screw you over as you put it. You're alive today because some good men risked their lives to save yours. One of them is in the hospital right now suffering from complications of going underwater to rescue you. If you're in such a hurry to be treated like an adult then maybe you should act like one but better yet, why don't you just be a kid. There's plenty of time to be an adult, you only get so much time to be a kid. Don't waste any of it."

"Are you done," she said petulantly.

"Yes, I have a busy day planned with Allie and we also intend to go to the hospital later. I'll give Constable Heeley your best and tell him how grateful you are that he saved your life." The girl turned and silently headed for the door.

Allie was on her second cup of tea. She'd spoken to her mother and was gazing lovingly at the diamond that had recently taken residence on her ring finger, when Reid finally joined her in the restaurant. "How did it go," she asked as he took the seat across from her.

"If we ever have a daughter, remind me to lock her up when she turns thirteen!"


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: As stated previously

--

They were headed to what Allie swore was the last stop on the shopping trip. Reid felt he'd already carried way too many bags to the car, reminding Allie that they did have to get these things home on an airplane! His admonitions however fell on deaf ears as she remarked, "We have to go here honey, Darren Woodhouse mentioned that his sister owns this store and they sell native crafts. He said that we should mention their names to his sister Della."

"Sweetheart, he probably tells that to all the tourists who flock here to see Della. She likely gives him commission."

"Oh, you are so jaded my love," she said as they came to the entrance to the shop. A bell tinkled as they entered. There was no one in the store. A tall beautiful native woman with long black hair that fell in waves down her back appeared from another room that was curtained with colorful beads and bone. She wore a wrap around deerskin dress with vivid and intricate beadwork and matching boots. She didn't approach them but sat on a stool behind the counter and looked to be doing a crossword puzzle.

The shop was full of blankets, quilts, jewelry, clothing, some carvings and sculptures that revealed the local native craftsmanship. The colors were varied and vibrant. Allie was drawn to a very colorful quilted throw in a sunburst pattern. The reds, oranges and yellows melded together to create a spectacular effect. "Oh honey, this is so awesome!"

"What are you thinking, the living room," Reid asked, knowing the colors would contrast beautifully with the black leather and the Hawthorne yellow walls.

"I wasn't thinking of us at all. I was thinking it would be a nice gift for your mother. I know she doesn't know me but she's going to be my mother too and I want to get her something nice." She looked at him and her expression pleaded with him not to say no. "She doesn't have a lot in her life except her room at Bennington and I thought a nice quilt would make her space more personal. I don't know if she wears jewelry so I thought…" she trailed off, searching his face.

"This is beautiful," Reid said carefully, fingering the soft fabric and fine needlework, "But I don't think it would be right for my mother." He saw the look of dejection in her eyes. Allie nodded and looked down. Reid reached under her chin and lifted her face up so their eyes met. "It's a lovely idea," he smiled, "And I'm sure we can find a quilt here that will be right for her. These colors are far too bright. Studies have shown that reds increase heartbeat and breathing while yellow speeds up the metabolism and enhances concentration. People lose their tempers more in yellow rooms. Now green is the easiest color on the eye. It's calming and refreshing and blue, a tranquil color, is said to cause the body to produce calming chemicals." He moved to another throw, quilted in a star pattern of more muted blues and greens. "This one would be perfect for my mother. And I think the other one would be perfect for us."

"Really," Allie's face lit up. She looked at the pattern and the elaborate stitching. "You really think she'll like this one?" Reid nodded. "You know, I realize she doesn't know me and may never know me but I want to do something nice for her, just to kind of say thank you because she gave you to the world and you're everything to me. It doesn't matter if she thinks it's from you."

"It's a very sweet and kind gesture and I hope some day she'll know you." He gathered up the quilts. "Are we done here," he asked hopefully, only to have his hopes dashed when she made a beeline for some hand beaded hairclips? The designs were very attractive with complex beading radiating from a matching center gemstone. They came in an abundance of bright colors. A porcupine quill slid through the loops to hold the hair in place. Allie had to get one for each of the women on the team and Bethany, she decided. Reid assumed they were done when she veered off yet again to some wood carvings. A lone wolf with its head back, howling, caught her attention.

"This would be perfect for Hotch." She picked up the carving and then decided on different animal carvings for all the men on the team, a black mountain lion for Morgan and a black bear for Rossi. She looked at some buckskin jackets and picked one from off the rack. "This would look great on Evan."

"No," Reid said emphatically. "You can't buy stuff for teenagers. You never know what they like and furthermore, look at the price. Evan's fourteen; he's growing like a weed. How long do you think he'd wear that even if he did like that kind of thing?" Reid was determined to put his foot down this time and Allie finally relented.

They took their finds to the woman behind the counter. "Hi," Allie said, "Are you Della Woodhouse?"

"I used to be, I'm Della Fleury now but the fact that you asked that tells me you must know my brothers. Don't tell me, Darren sent you here?" The couple nodded and Della shook he head, "Brothers!"

Allie and Reid loaded all their goods onto the counter and Reid said to Della as she totaled up their purchases. "Your brothers know the terrain here really well. They were a big help the other night."

"Oh, you must be the FBI agent," Della responded. "John and Darren told me all about the search for that girl. I'm glad everything worked out."

"I'm Spencer Reid," he turned to Allie, "And this is Allie Graham."

"Not for long," she replied, "It's nice to meet you Della." Della looked confused. "We got engaged last night so I won't be Allie Graham for that much longer."

"Ah, well congratulations to you both." The couple paid for their purchases and thanked Della before Reid lugged yet more bags back to the car.

--

Constable Grant Heeley was feeling better. His breathing had improved dramatically with the drugs they'd given him. They'd removed the awkward oxygen mask and replaced it with nasal prongs which were much more comfortable. The guys had been in bright and early to check on him and told him they'd be back this afternoon but better yet, Melanie had helped him get settled in the room last night and had been here again this morning. He didn't know what to make of it but he hoped it meant she was coming around and not just being a kind nurse. There was a soft knock on the door, "Come in," he replied quietly, hoping to see the beautiful face of his dreams. A beautiful face did appear in the doorway but it didn't belong to Melanie. "Oh, hi Allie," he said as she peeked around the door.

"Hi, can we come in," she asked as she opened the door wider to reveal her companion.

"Sure, come on in, hi Spencer," he greeted the FBI agent who was carrying a rather large fruit basket that he assumed was the lady's idea. Reid set the basket down on the bedside table. Allie handed him an envelope containing a get well card. "Thanks, this is really nice guys."

"So," Reid asked, "How are you feeling today? You look better than last night." Reid took in the fact that the officer was on oxygen and that an IV was infusing via a pump into his left arm.

"I thought I was going to die last night but today I feel a lot better. Maybe it's because of the good drugs. They gave me morphine to help with my breathing. That's smooth stuff." He glided his hand through the air. "It sends you on a nice little trip. I can see how people can get hooked on that stuff." Allie and Reid exchanged a look. "What," Grant said, looking between them, "Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all," Reid replied. "Hopefully you won't have to take it for long since you're on the mend."

"Yeah, thanks for acting so fast. Brian told me that you figured out what was wrong and made them hurry to get me here. I really appreciate it," the constable's voice was choked.

"Think nothing of it. So how's Melanie, she seemed rather upset last night when she found out you were in trouble?' Reid raised his eyebrows at Grant.

"She was here this morning so I'm hopeful," he shrugged his shoulders.

"See what happens when you change your approach," Reid whispered. "I guess half dead mountie is more appealing than arrogant mountie." Grant flipped Reid the bird. "Oh you are feeling better, aren't you!"

There was another knock at the door and five more faces appeared in the doorway. Brian and Denise Jacoby, Constable Mercer, Blair Praznik and Melanie all entered the room. "How are you doing Grant," Frank Mercer asked. "I was shocked when the guys told me what happened last night."

"Oh, I'm feeling much better thanks," Grant replied although he only had eyes for Melanie. The pretty brunette had traded her scrubs for black jeans, a blue tank top and a black suede jacket. The others all greeted Reid and Allie and Allie gave a tiny wave as she and Melanie were finally introduced.

Denise suddenly drew in a sharp breath, "Oh, my God girl," she grabbed Allie's hand, pointing to the ring on her finger. "That rock was not there when I did your nails yesterday."

Allie explained about the proposal and her acceptance the night before. The couple were congratulated by everyone. Melanie and Denise studied the ring closely and declared Spencer a very good gem shopper.

Frank Mercer's beeper went off and he looked at the display. "Duty calls I'm afraid, come on Brian, we gotta get back." Blair went with them leaving Reid, Allie and the two ladies.

"Well this calls for a celebration. Not much here to celebrate with so we'll go to Tim's and pick up something nice."

"What's Tim's," Allie asked.

"Tim Horton's it's a coffee place, there's one here in the hospital." Allie, Melanie and Denise left vowing to return with some delicious coffees.

"So," Grant asked Reid when they were alone, "What was that look between you and Allie a few minutes ago?"


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer

--

Reid sat on the chair next to Grant's bed, his head down, looking at his fingers that were tented in front of him. He said nothing for a few moments and then looked up at Grant. "My name is Spencer and I'm a drug addict."

Grant's jaw dropped and his eyes widened to their limits at Spencer's words. I…I… I don't…

"Believe it," Reid asked. "I find it hard to believe myself sometimes."

"But, how, I mean you don't…" Grant stammered.

"Look like the type," Reid finished for him. "I've discovered there is no type."

"How did you get involved with drugs?" Grant finally found his voice.

Reid sighed heavily, then recounted his kidnapping by Tobias Hankel and what he had been forced to endure at the hands of the madman, that eventually led him to kill his captor. "I thought when I shot him it was over but my nightmare was just beginning. Tobias had given me the gift that keeps on giving, an addiction, both physical and psychological, to Dilaudid. It's five times more potent and addicting than what they're giving you. I was also suffering some PTSD at the time which didn't help the situation. I used for a short time and was becoming someone I didn't like very much so I quit. It wasn't easy. I've gone to a support group in DC and found out that substance abuse is quite prevalent in law enforcement. I don't suppose the statistics up here would be that much different from ours."

Grant had listened in silence as Reid told him about the ordeal that had changed his life. "Wow, Spencer, I'm really sorry that you had to go through something like that. You definitely didn't deserve that, nobody does, but I mean, you were just doing your job. So, you're okay now, though?"

Reid considered for a moment how to respond. "I'm as okay as a guy in my position can be, I guess. I still have nightmares and PTSD flashbacks from time to time. I had one the other night while chasing Drummond through the woods but I just fought through it and carried on. I had to. I still have moments when I want to escape from what I see on the job and at those times the craving will always be there. My team has been great even though I was a total pain in the ass for a while and Allie, what can I say about Allie, that woman loves me in spite of it all. Whenever I'm wrestling with temptation, those are the thoughts that I have to cling to because I know I will always, always, be one slip away from disaster."

"Did you ever think about quitting and doing something else," Grant asked. "I mean a guy with your credentials could do just about anything he wants."

"I won't say I didn't think about it. I wondered if the job was worth the toll it took on me. I even missed a plane on purpose to see if I could step away from the work. My mentor, Jason Gideon, had a book where he put the pictures of the people who were saved by what we did. It was a strong reminder that what we do is important and people are alive because of what we do. It's not the kind of job where you say 'I love my job,' because it's a job you wish didn't have to be done but there's a great deal of satisfaction from it that I don't know that I'd get in any other job. Do you understand?"

Grant nodded, he was silent for a short time then said, "You were speaking of being a pain in the ass before, I guess I was one when we first met. Sorry."

"That's okay," Reid replied. "It happens all the time. Police departments call us in but often resent our being there, like we're a reminder that they couldn't solve the case. In your case, I wasn't even called in and I'm from another country. So I totally get it. Blair was right. It's just different law enforcement officers working toward a common goal. My team can get a psychological profile of the criminal but the locals know the lay of the land and we definitely need that." He laughed. "The other night when I was chasing Drummond, I grabbed my weapon and was about to yell 'freeze FBI,' then I thought, no, I can't say that up here, so then I almost yelled, 'freeze RCMP.' Then I thought, I'm not that either. Talk about the twilight zone!" Grant laughed as well until he started to wheeze.

Reid glanced at a deck of cards on Grant's bedside table, "So what are you doing with these, not playing solitaire I hope." Reid swept up the cards and his nimble fingers shuffled them as expertly as any Vegas dealer. Grant's eyes widened at the man's prowess. "We play cards a lot on the plane," was all he said as he dealt two hands for a game of gin rummy.

"I wonder where the girls are," Grant remarked as he sorted his cards. "They should be back by now."

"Is there a gift shop near this coffee place because if there is, knowing Allie, she couldn't resist the urge to go in and buy something?" Grant laughed again which brought on a new bout of wheezing.

"Oh man, don't make me laugh," he said breathlessly.

"Do you need me to get the nurse," Reid asked, concerned?

The mountie shook his head but Reid thought it was because he was too short of breath to speak. Against Grant's objections, he pushed the button for the nurse. Soon a short, plump redhead named Debbie walked into the room, took in Grant's predicament and left to get him some Morphine. She returned shortly with a syringe which she inserted into the port of his IV. "No…don't …want."

"It's okay Grant, take the Morphine. Our situations aren't the same." Reid nodded at Debbie to go ahead. She administered the Morphine slowly and Reid watched the solution flow from the syringe into the IV port and he remembered how it felt when he'd watched the Dilaudid leave the syringe and enter his bloodstream. First the flushing warmth as the drug took hold, then the feeling of floating effortlessly and finally blessedly sweet oblivion. Reid turned away and walked to the window while Debbie tended to Grant, taking his vital signs and oxygen saturation. The mountie's respiration began to stabilize quickly after the drug entered his system and he was breathing comfortably in no time. Debbie left, reminding Grant to ring again if he was in difficulty.

Grant looked at Reid who still stood by the window. "You okay?" Reid nodded. "Sorry if that was hard on you."

"It's okay, it's something I'll have to get used to." Reid turned from the window and came back to the chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Grant replied with a crooked smile, "Really good!" Just what he needed Reid thought, a mountie on a nice little Morphine trip.

Reid proceeded to beat Grant at three straight games of gin which Grant seemed surprisingly happy about. Maybe not so surprising, Reid thought, Grant would be happy about a nuclear holocaust about now. Reid was shuffling the cards again, mesmerizing Grant with his technique, when the women returned with a tray of flavored coffees and a box of doughnuts. They gave the men their choice of coffee and took the remains for themselves. They passed the doughnut box around. "You seem in really good spirits," Allie said to Grant.

"Yeah, I'm great," Grant replied. Allie looked at Reid, nonplussed. Reid made the motion of a syringe plunger in the crook of his arm and Allie nodded. Melanie noted the gesture and was out of her chair by the window instantly.

"Are you okay Grant? Did you have trouble with your breathing?"

"It was my fault," Reid replied. "I was making him laugh and it caused him to start wheezing but Debbie gave him some Morphine and he's a lot better.

"What were your sats," Melanie asked to which Grant shrugged.

"They were eighty-nine when Debbie gave him the drug but they came up to ninety-six." Reid supplied. Melanie nodded.

Denise said she had to get going but would likely see Grant tomorrow. Reid and Allie decided to go as well. "Will I see you guys again before you leave," he asked.

"Oh yeah, if you're still in the hospital, we'll make it a point to stop in and say good bye." Allie went close to the man and whispered, "Denise and I talked you up really good with Melanie. Don't you dare blow it!" Grant saluted obediently.

"I may see you before then," Reid reasoned. "I have to unload the car of all the stuff that Allie bought. I may be in the next room tonight with a hernia." Grant laughed uproariously but this time did not start wheezing while Allie slapped Reid playfully on the shoulder.

They left the room and as they headed down the corridor Allie said, "Alright, what went on in there that you're not talking about?"


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds and no copyright infringement is intended

A/N: Last chapter of this part of the story folks. The new story starts tomorrow.

--

Steven had hired a canoe, complete with two canoeists, to ferry Reid and Allie across the lake. Reid watched Allie's joy as she nestled against him, his arm around her and tilted her head back feeling the sun on her face and the calm breeze that gently tousled her brown locks. One of her hands dangled over the side of the canoe, dipping into the tranquil but frigid water while the other was encased in Spencer's large hand. His thumb absently fingered the diamond trying to get used to the newness of feeling it on her hand. He silently thanked God that she had agreed to wear it, encompassing all that it symbolized, and that they would have years for him to become accustomed to its feel.

They could have joined a tour that took groups in large canoes but the couple decided that they wanted some time alone. Greg and Wes were experienced canoeists and guides who would take Reid and Allie to their chosen destination and then back away until the couple was ready to return. When they got near the shore, Wes and Greg jumped out and pulled the canoe shoreward and then assisted Allie to disembark. "The trail you want is over this way," Wes said leading the couple to the left as a path snaked upward through the mountainous terrain and lush vegetation. The sun flickered through the leaves as the foursome trooped up the trail. Wes and Greg led the way, each holding one handle of what looked like a small cooler. Reid had asked if the hotel could make them a picnic lunch and this cooler had been delivered to the canoe. They hiked for a fair distance and when they heard the sound of rushing water, Reid knew they were nearing their destination.

Reid was proved right when a few minutes later they reached a rocky ridge with a view of water that cascaded down from the mountain. The men set down the cooler and Wes handed Reid a little beeper. "Just press the button when you're ready to go back." The two men turned and headed back down the trail.

"Oh, it's so beautiful," Allie said, gazing in awe at nature's splendor. The Bridal Veil Falls were indeed that, Reid thought as he took in the water plunging down to become white foamy waves when it hit the stream that was a major tributary to the Kicking Horse River. "Honey, get the camera." Reid removed his backpack and dug his Nikon camera out of the bag. "Okay, now get a picture of me in front of the falls." Reid focused the camera and clicked. "That's great my love, just think, me standing here in front of the Bridal Veil Falls. Get it, the bride to be with the Bridal Veil Falls behind me, you know cuz when we like, get married, the bridal veil falls behind me." She winked at him, "Kinda fitting don't you think?"

Reid rolled his eyes, "Is this what I'm in for, for the next sixty, maybe seventy years of my life, bad jokes? If I'd known that…"

"Do not even joke about that. That's the epitome of a bad joke. You wouldn't really consider…"

"No, of course not," he scoffed. "I'd get a license and marry you right here and now. All that other stuff means nothing to me. I'm not a great social animal, you know that."

"You'd do that, you'd just get married right here?" She considered for a minute. "My mother would kill me or at least threaten never to speak to me again."

Reid nodded, "Yeah, we'd have bigger problems than your mother."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that. You should have seen how involved she was when Chelsea got married. She's going to want to be just as involved in this wedding," Allie informed him. "So, I think that trumps any ideas you've got."

Reid reached into his pocket and took out some coins. He put one loonie on the ground and said, "I'll see your upset Joan Graham." He threw two more loonies on the pile, "And I'll raise you one pissed off Penelope Garcia. After Baylor shot her, Morgan taught her to shoot. She's got a permit to carry."

Spencer was right, Allie thought. Garcia was like a mother bear around him. There is no way, she would miss Spencer's wedding. "I guess we can't elope, can we?"

"Nope," Reid replied. "Not like you wanted to anyway. I know you're all excited about the white dress, the big cake and your Dad giving you away. It doesn't mean that much to me but it does to you so I'm in. Either way, in the end, I get what I want. Whether we elope or have a big wedding, in the end you'll be my wife and that's all I want." He looked at Allie to see tears meandering down her face. He took his thumbs and wiped them across her cheeks. "Jeez woman, why do you have to be crying all the time?"

"Well, why do you always have to say such sweet things," she replied tearfully.

"You want me to quit saying sweet things," Reid asked skeptically, his right eyebrow lifted.

"No, of course not, oh you're incorrigible." She smiled and said in a voice mimicking a cartoon character, "Hey Yogi, what's in the pic-i-nic basket?"

Reid toted the cooler over to a grassy area and opened it. "Table cloth and napkins," he said as he removed items from the container. "A bottle of non alcoholic vino, two glasses, he held up the stemware. He continued the list, "Sandwiches, slices of ham, chicken and roast beef, cheese and crackers, cookies, fruit, yogurt and some sodas. He came to a round container at the bottom, removed the lid and started to laugh.

"What is it," Allie asked as she stopped spreading the food out on the tablecloth. Reid held out the container that contained three sections. One contained strawberries, the other two, chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

The couple ate a substantial portion of the food prepared by the hotel and Reid sat with his back against the tree, Allie in his arms. "This is the life," he remarked.

Allie reached her hand over and came up with a cream and chocolate drenched strawberry and offered it to the man she loved. "Could be better," she said as he took a bite of her offering. Allie ran her free hand along his thigh.

Reid raised his eyebrows, "You're not thinking what I think you are?" Allie said nothing as she smiled and let her tongue ever so slowly lick her lips. Her hand continued its tantalizing massage of his thighs. "Allie, you gotta stop," he said breathlessly.

"Why, there's nobody here," she said as she pulled her hoodie over her head and started to slowly undo her blouse. "I'll show you mine…" By the time she reached the fourth button and Spencer had full view of the small bits of lace attempting to contain Allie's heaving breasts, he was lost. His own body screamed for release from its restraints.

They shed their clothes quickly and their bodies melded together, the first coupling, fast and vigorous, then later, slow and tender. The elements acted in concert with the lovers, the grass providing a soft bed while the tree's heavily laden green boughs gave them shelter from the breeze and the harsh rays of the sun whose warmth enveloped them as their cries of ecstasy and contentment were veiled by the roaring falls.

They donned their clothes again and sat in each other's arms basking in sun's rays and the afterglow of their lovemaking. "You never told me what went on with Grant. I sensed that something happened."

"Can't keep anything from you, can I?" She shook her head and he continued. "He noticed the look between you and I when he mentioned his Morphine trip and he asked about it," Reid explained.

"And," she asked when he paused.

"I told him I was a drug addict." Moments went by. Allie said nothing. "He was disbelieving at first but I told him about Georgia and then he understood. I think I scared him though because when he had his breathing problem," he paused, "He was telling the nurse he didn't want the Morphine. But he needed it, you know, and it's not like me. I mean he's in a hospital, a controlled environment and he's not getting doses like Tobias was giving me. He'll be fine."

"I can understand how he feels. People who see you, who don't know your life, see this extremely smart, good looking guy" she put a finger to his lips when he was about to protest. "And they think, 'life must be easy for him.' So when something like this happens, they get scared because if it could happen to him, the poster boy for the FBI, then it could just as easily happen to me."

"You've got to stop feeling bad about what happened to you. You may have the most brilliant mind but your body is the same as everyone else's." She tilted her head to the side in consideration, "Let me rephrase that, your body is pretty spectacular but on the inside, it's the same as everyone else's. You received a very potent and addicting drug and your body became addicted. The need was real. Now people in their right mind can reason, 'I've got to stop this even though my physical body's screaming for it.' But after Georgia, you weren't in your right mind. For a while you were damaged and when that damage started to heal, you took control again. All that you went through has made you stronger but your vulnerability has also made you empathetic to the broken souls of this world."

She looked up at Spencer to see tears streaming down his face. "Sorry," he said as he wiped his hand across his cheek.

"I've always thought it takes a very strong man to show his tears and you're about as tough as they come. You've struggled, and overcome way too much in my opinion. So, we're gonna work on you having some fun." She nodded at him when he looked confused, "Yeah, fun. We're gonna go to the park and toss the Frisbee around and maybe fly a kite. We're gonna bike and roller skate. We're gonna sing silly childhood schoolyard songs. We're gonna be happy!"

The tears began again and this time he made no attempt to stop them. "I am happy." He ran his hand through her hair and cupped her cheek, "So happy!

--

That was the most interesting horseback ride I've ever been on," Allie said as they entered the hotel room on the last day of their vacation.

"What can I say, horses are animals. The Reid effect was in full force. Don't say it," he put up his hand, "I know she was the most docile horse they had but she was still vulnerable to the Reid effect!"

"It was good to see the Gautiers there. The boys seemed to find your equestrian shortcomings very funny," Allie remarked as she sat on the settee and removed her boots. "At least they're trying to get some normalcy back in their lives."

"That's good, don't get me wrong," Reid replied. "But they'll need more than that. Counseling for each of the kids individually and as a family wouldn't hurt."

"Did you suggest it," she asked?

Reid nodded, "In a roundabout way to Judy. I hope she was listening." Reid put his hands on his backside. "My butt is so sore."

Allie laughed. "Landing on hard rock will do that honey but I know what'll help, a Jacuzzi. Let me start it running. I might even join you. I do believe I've got a few kinks myself. I'm sure it will make you forget all about your sore spots!"

"Hmm," he said, undoing the top button of her shirt. "I think you might be right and afterwards, a great dinner, maybe room service, since there's not a lot of time left and I haven't totally completed my exploration of Egyptian cotton…"

"Well…" Allie whispered slyly in his ear. "I wouldn't want to be accused of keeping a renowned PhD such as yourself from your research. Let's get to it then…and make this a night to remember."

--

**The End of Part One. The story continues in Borderlines**


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